The problem with car accidents is they often affect you far longer than you anticipated. A simple accident might involve a few minor repairs and no injuries, but it can mean weeks of driving a rental car, talking to insurance agents, and determining fault. If the accident is more serious, it might involve weeks or months of medical visits, doctor appointments, bills, lost wages, loss of income, and many moments financial stress. This is only made more difficult when you cannot find a person to blame for the accident. If you are partially to blame for an auto accident, you might wonder what happens next. You are not alone. People tend to find it difficult to move forward when the accident is partially their own fault, and they don’t know how to handle a situation of this nature.
How Are You Partially to Blame?
There are a dozen ways you could be partially to blame for an accident. if the other driver was breaking the law at the same time you were breaking the law, you might feel you are both to blame for the accident. However, there is something you might not consider. You see the accident from your car and your perspective. Good for you for wanting to take part of the blame for yourself but don’t do it. You might not be to blame for any of it, even if you suspect you did something wrong and are partially at-fault. There is a good chance you did nothing wrong, or at least that no one can prove you are partially to blame for what happened when the accident occurred.
Call An Attorney
Before you admit to anything or speak to anyone, you should call a personal injury accident attorney. Their advice will be to say nothing at all. You can get out of your car to ask if everyone is all right and if there is anything you can do to help other drivers such as call the police. You can exchange contact information and insurance information, but attorneys suggest you stop there. Never admit blame in an accident. If you do admit blame, most people will accept that as the fault of the accident and move on without doing their work to see if it’s actually true. You could be wrong, and you don’t want to incriminate yourself when you are not to blame at all or even partially.
Damages are Affected
Many accidents result in injuries. These injuries have a significant impact on how you live your life. Can you afford to lose out on the damages you’re due because someone else is allowing you to take partial blame? While you aren’t going to miss out on all the damages you’re owed, you could lose a significant amount of those damages. This could cause you to suffer financially in the future, which is a problem for many people.
The law will allow you to seek some damages if you are partially to blame. Don’t panic just yet. The damages are simply reduced based on how much of the blame for the accident is your own. You might see half the amount you wanted to cover your part in the accident. It’s not impossible to get what you need to cover the cost of medical bills, lost wages, and other damages, but it’s easier if you are not to blame even partially for what occurred.
Reconstruction
If you call an attorney, they can work to reconstruct the accident to see who is to blame. The purpose of this is to place the blame on the correct driver. If you are not to blame for the portion of the accident you feel you are to blame for, you might find it’s fairly easy to prove this. Let an experienced attorney help you prove you are not to blame. This can be done with the help of an experienced reconstruction team that’s able to find the correct cause of the accident.
While it might not always prove you aren’t partially to blame, it can mean you have a chance of being able to recover all the damages you’re entitled to. You want to get as much as you can from the insurance company of the at-fault driver, which means not accepting any checks or settlements until you’ve called an attorney to discuss your rights, your options, and your next step.
If you are partially to blame, you aren’t going to lose out on all that you’re owed or due, but the amount is often minimized and reduced to cover other costs. Let your attorney help you find the best course of action in a situation such as this one so you don’t face the legal ramifications of higher insurance rates, lower damages, and future financial stress.