Being in a car accident can leave you feeling lost and confused, especially when it comes to figuring out who was at fault. Whether you’re dealing with an insurance claim or worried about injuries after a car accident, determining fault by location of damage is just one piece of the puzzle – but it can help to tell the story about what happened.
Why Is It Important to Know Who Is At Fault in a Car Accident?
Fault matters because it decides who pays for the damage and injuries from your accident. For insurance claims, the at-fault driver’s rates will likely go up, and their insurance will be responsible for covering the costs.
Here in Nevada, how to tell who hit whom in a car accident is even more important if you’ve been injured. That’s because we follow a modified comparative negligence rule. This means you can only recover compensation for your injuries if you were less than 50% at fault for the accident. And, the amount will be reduced by your percentage of fault – so if you were 20% at fault, you’d receive 20% less than the full value of your claim.
Understanding How to Determine Fault in a Car Accident
While your insurance company will typically make the final call on fault, it helps to know what they look for. Here are the main types of evidence they use to figure out who broke traffic laws and caused the accident.
Police Reports
Police reports provide an official record of what happened. Officers write down what they see at the scene, take statements from drivers and witnesses, and often make their own judgment about what caused the crash. Police reports are also important because they document things that might not be visible later, like skid marks that wash away or debris that gets cleaned up.
Eyewitness Testimony
People who saw your accident happen can provide valuable information about what led to the crash. This could include other drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or even workers at nearby businesses on Las Vegas Boulevard or other busy streets. The best time to get witness information is right after the accident, while memories are fresh.
Video Evidence and Dashcams
Las Vegas has cameras everywhere, from casino security systems to traffic cameras at major intersections. Vehicle dashcam footage can also show exactly how an accident happened. Video evidence is especially helpful because it’s objective and can reveal things people might have missed.
Accident Scene
The accident scene itself offers many clues about fault. Skid marks can show if a driver tried to stop. The location of scattered debris can indicate the point of impact. Sometimes the scene can even help prove you weren’t at fault, like if a stop sign was missing, a traffic light was broken, or a tree blocked your view.
Damage Location
Where the damage appears on the vehicles involved can tell us a lot about the car accident. Determining fault by location of damage isn’t always straightforward, however. We’ll look at this in detail next.
How to Assess Damage to a Car
Insurance adjusters look at several key things when assessing car damage. They start by photographing all damage from multiple angles and measuring the depth and size of dents or scrapes. They check if the damage matches the reported accident details and look for signs that could point to a different cause. They also note paint transfers between vehicles, which can help show how the cars came together.
In more serious crashes, especially those involving personal injury claims, accident reconstruction experts may get involved. These specialists use advanced tools and physics calculations to determine things like vehicle speed, angle of impact, and the sequence of events. They might create detailed 3D models of the crash and can testify in court about their findings.
Using Car Damage to Determine Who Caused the Accident
The location of damage on vehicles can sometimes tell us a lot about what happened in an accident. Here are some common scenarios where determining car accident fault by location of damage is possible.
Illegal Turns
Let’s say you’re driving down the Strip and someone hits the passenger side of your car while making a left turn where it’s not allowed. The side damage to your car, combined with where the other car is damaged in front, suggests they turned into your path illegally. This kind of evidence is especially helpful on Las Vegas’s busy one-way streets, where turns are often restricted.
T-Bone Accidents
T-bone crashes often happen at busy intersections like Tropicana and Las Vegas Boulevard. If your car gets hit on the side at an intersection where you had a green light, and there’s front-end damage to the other car, this suggests they ran a red light. But remember, you’ll probably need other evidence like traffic camera footage or witness statements to help confirm who actually had the right of way.
Rear-End Accidents
Rear-end accidents are common in stop-and-go traffic on the 215 or when tourist traffic suddenly slows on the Strip. Damage to the back of your car usually means you’re not at fault: The driver who hits you from behind is typically at fault because they should have left enough space to stop safely. However, if you suddenly cut in front of someone or your brake lights weren’t working, you might share some fault.
Being Cut Off
Las Vegas’s mix of tourists and locals often leads to sudden lane changes and risky turns. If someone cuts you off making a left turn, the damage pattern tells a story. Damage to your left front area and their right front suggests you tried to avoid them but couldn’t. However, if their damage is toward their back right side, this might mean they were almost through the turn and you had time to stop, which could mean you share some fault because you failed to react and prevent the accident.
Is the Car With More Damage at Fault?
Not always. Which car has more damage in an accident doesn’t necessarily show who caused the accident. A small car might have major damage after being hit by a large truck, even if the truck driver was completely at fault. Speed also isn’t always a clear indicator of fault. For example, if someone runs a red light on Charleston Boulevard going the speed limit, they’re still at fault if they hit someone who was legally in the intersection.
Limitations on Determining Car Accident Fault by Location of Damage
While damage location provides important clues, it’s not always enough to prove fault on its own. For example, you won’t always know how to tell who sideswiped who by damage. In a sideswipe accident on I-15, damage patterns might be similar whether you drifted into another lane or they drifted into yours. Or in our previous examples, the other driver could be at fault if they ran a red light or were speeding, regardless of the damage.
That’s why other evidence is so important. Traffic camera footage, witness statements, and police reports help fill in the gaps that damage patterns alone can’t explain. This is especially true in complex accidents with multiple vehicles or in areas with complicated traffic patterns like the resort corridor.
When to Seek Advice About Accident Fault Determination Rules
If you’ve been injured, don’t try to figure out how to tell who is at fault in a car accident on your own. Insurance companies have teams of adjusters and lawyers working to minimize what they pay you. You deserve to have someone on your side who knows Nevada law and how to prove what really happened.
Our car accident attorneys help injured people throughout Las Vegas and Nevada get the money they deserve. We know how to investigate crashes, work with accident reconstruction experts, and prove who was at fault. We handle everything about your case so you can focus on getting better.
Get in touch with us today for a free case evaluation. We’ll review your accident, explain your rights, and help you understand your options. Don’t let questions about determining car accident fault by location of damage keep you from getting the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
