All involved drivers should obtain the information that ought to help with answering fundamental questions. Those are questions that relate to issues of fault, proof of negligence, and possession of insurance.

How do insurance companies determine who was at-fault for a given accident?

The company would ask these questions: Who was careless? Who failed to follow the posted traffic rules?

An insurer would check for instances of shared fault. That could involve studying the evidence, in order to search for any sign that either party had failed to use reasonable precautionary measures. The state’s principle with regard to shared fault would also prove of significance, as per personal injury lawyer in Orland Park.

Some states follow the principle of comparative negligence. Other states follow the principle of contributory negligence. In the latter states, there is no sharing of compensatory funds in cases where both parties were partially at-fault. An insurance adjuster would examine the location and nature of damage to any involved vehicle. That could offer a clue as to which party should be declared at-fault.

What sorts of evidence could suggest that one or both parties had been negligent?

Did the officer that reported to the scene of the collision issue a ticket to any driver? The person that has received a traffic ticket would appear to have been negligent.

What could an insurance company learn by studying a driver’s cell phone records? It could check to see whether or not the time of any particular call related to the time of the accident.

What objects might be found on the driver’s seat? Was there any partially eaten food? Was there any evidence that the driver had been multi-tasking, while in control of the steering wheel?

An insurance company could not claim negligence unless all 4 elements were present.

-Proof of a duty that the one driver owed to the other driver
-Proof that one driver had breached that same duty
-Proof that the breech caused the other driver to become injured
-Proof that the injured driver suffered measurable losses

How could an injured victim know whom to sue?

That victim should make a list of all those that might be responsible for the accident. One of the people (or groups) on that list should be the target of any personal injury lawsuit. Following the completion of that litigated case, the party that was sued would have a right to seek money from any of the other parties.

For instance, someone that was injured in a truck accident might decide to sue the driver. After the driver had received the verdict for that particular lawsuit, then he or she would have the right to sue the truck’s owner, the leasing company, or the truck’s manufacturer.