Who Is Usually At Fault for a T-Bone Accident?

You may be navigating your car safely when, seemingly out of nowhere, the front of another vehicle collides with the side of yours. You may assume that the blame should be placed entirely on this other driver, as you believe you did nothing out of the ordinary with your driving standards. However, you must deeply reflect on the events that led up to this crash, through personal memories, traffic camera footage, accident reconstruction analyses, etc., before you go forth with this serious accusation. With that being said, please continue reading to learn which party is usually at fault for a T-bone accident and how an experienced Passaic County car accident lawyer at the Law Offices of August R. Soltis can help you identify the right direction to take your personal injury claim.

Is the driver who hits the side of the other vehicle always at fault?

Contrary to what you may presume, the driver who struck the side of your vehicle is not automatically at fault for your accident event. Rather, to determine this, an insurance company and civil court may analyze “right-of-way” rules, especially if your collision occurred in the middle of an intersection. Here, it may be found that you entered the intersection illegally by ignoring a stop sign, running a red light, or otherwise failing to yield before a posted yield sign. Your reckless actions may have come as a surprise to the other driver, explaining why they collided at your side.

In another example, your T-bone accident may have happened after you reversed out of your driveway or parking spot. If this action was sudden, or otherwise was a misjudgment of a traffic gap, it may be argued that the other driver had no reasonable time to brake or avoid impact. Lastly, your vehicle may have incurred a side impact if you conducted an illegal traffic maneuver. That is, if you attempted a prohibited U-turn across a center lane that divides opposing traffic directions. Another driver cannot be expected to anticipate this random change in direction.

Can there be multiple parties at fault for a T-bone accident?

After hearing both sides of the story, the New Jersey civil court handling your personal injury claim may conclude that you and the other driver shared fault in your T-bone accident. For example, this may be the ruling if it is discovered that you violated a traffic regulation first, but then the other driver was driving distractedly or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Even if you are assigned partial blame, though, you may still be eligible to receive a portion of your claimed damages.

This is thanks to New Jersey’s modified comparative negligence rule. Here, as a plaintiff of a personal injury claim, you may receive an award so long as your fault in the accident event is 50 percent or less. With that, though, your award may be reduced by your percentage of fault. Say the court believes your violation of a traffic regulation meant you were 30 percent to blame. Well then, you may collect 70 percent of the financial compensation you sought for your cited economic and non-economic damages.

So, if you wish to gain more clarity on the situation you are dealing with, the best way to get it is by consulting with a skilled Passaic County auto accident lawyer. Get in touch with our team at the Law Offices of August R. Soltis today.