You may assume that the at-fault party for a rear-end accident is pretty evident. Namely, that the back-end driver who crashed into the front-end driver is totally to blame. However, extenuating circumstances may make this assignment of fault less black and white. What’s more, there may even be more than two parties involved in such an accident. With all these things considered, please continue reading to learn what evidence is needed to determine fault in a rear-end accident and how an experienced Tampa car accident lawyer at Merricks Law Group, P.A. can help you acquire it on time for your upcoming claim.
Who and what is involved in a rear-end accident event?
A rear-end accident may transpire in many different ways. As one example, the front-end driver may be negligent in abruptly slamming on the brakes without a traffic signal turning red or a stop sign in sight. From here, the back-end driver may be incapable of stopping on time and crash into their vehicle. However, this crash may cause a further harsh stop in traffic flow. Subsequently, one or more vehicles may pile up behind these two vehicles and cause further drivers wrongfully involved in this accident event.
While the front-end driver was at fault in the scenario mentioned above, there may be another case where they are not. For example, the reason for their abruptly slamming the brakes may be because there was a piece of weather-related debris (i.e., fallen branches or fallen power lines) or vehicle debris (i.e., loose tires or pieces of bumper) obstructing their lane. Therefore, a city or state entity may be possibly responsible instead.
Or, a back-end driver may have simply been tailgating the front-end driver; to the point that they were incapable of coming to a complete stop on time. This may be worsened if they were driving at a high speed as it was. Ultimately, this may have caused the multiple-car pileup in this rear-end collision.
What evidence is needed to determine fault in a rear-end accident?
As you may conclude from the aforementioned examples, it is not always clear whether the back-end driver was the at-fault party of a rear-end accident. This is why you must gather plenty of evidence at the accident scene to firmly establish fault in the matter.
Firstly, it helps if you call a law enforcement officer to the scene. This is so they may expertly observe how the vehicles landed and where the damages on the vehicles are located to give their opinion on who or what stood as the catalyst of it all. You may also support their police report with photos of all the vehicles involved and of the skidmarks below all of them. This is not to forget testimonies from eyewitnesses, and possibly even video footage from a nearby traffic camera.
At Merricks Law Group, P.A., we share the same goal as you, which is likely to recover damages from your car accident event. So please do not hesitate to work with a skilled Tampa auto accident lawyer from our firm today.
