It was a rear-end collision. The driver behind is automatically at fault, right? Not always. If you rear-ended someone, there is still a chance that they are legally at fault. There are situations where the driver in front is actually responsible for the crash and therefore liable to the driver behind him. These situations are more common than you might think. However, most not-at-fault drivers who were behind in a rear-end collision never think to fight back against the assumption that they were at fault. With the help of a skilled car accident attorney, you may be able to not only absolve yourself of liability but also recover damages from the driver who actually caused your accident.
How Do I Know if the Driver in Front Was Responsible for My Rear-End Collision?
A good test is to think about what you realistically could have done to avoid rear-ending the driver ahead of you. If you honestly cannot think of anything you should have done differently to avoid the crash, and were not being careless, then you might not be at fault. If the driver in front of you created a situation where you had little or no opportunity to avoid the collision, they may in fact be liable to you.
Common situations where the front driver is responsible for a rear-end collision include:
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