Determining Fault in Accidents Involving Backing Up

Backing up a car is a maneuver that takes patience, awareness, and the driver needs to adapt to the situation they’re in. While backing out of a driveway into an empty street can be a simple task, backing out of a parking space in a busy lot can be a bit more difficult. Unfortunately, if someone acts negligently and isn’t careful, they can cause a car accident. If this has happened to you, seeking legal options can help you recover the injuries and damages you’ve suffered.

Prince Law Firm has an experienced Marion car accident lawyer who will defend your rights. When we begin investigating your case, we’ll start with figuring out the series of events or actions that happened that resulted in a car accident. Let’s take a look at the situations where back-up accidents can arise.

When Can Back-Up Accidents Happen?

Back-up accidents can occur anywhere. However, they’re most common in areas like parking lots. If a back-up accident occurs here, the following situations may have happened:

• A car backing into a spot hit the vehicle parked behind it.
• A car backing out of a spot hit a moving vehicle in the traffic lane.
• A car backing out of a spot hit another vehicle backing out from a spot.
• A car backed into a cyclist or pedestrian they didn’t see.

Other situations where these accidents can occur is when cars are backing out of driveways or are street-parking.

When these accidents happen, it’s important to understand right-of-way. Typically, the vehicles in the traffic lanes have right of way. So, if someone is about to pull out of a parking spot but a car is coming down the through lane, then the car in the spot should wait until the vehicle passes and they have a clear lane to safely back out.

Vehicles exiting parking spots close to each other need to be aware of what the other is doing. If one car began to reverse first, then the other car should wait for them to go. This also means the car waiting will need to be aware that other vehicles could be exiting spots around them.

As we look into your case, we’ll take your account, the other party’s account, and any eyewitness accounts to gather all the facts we can. From there, we can assess injuries and damages to see how the accident affected you.

Who Can Be at Fault?

Determining fault can be tricky, especially when multiple parties were involved. Typically, a driver who wasn’t paying attention and hit the other party could be found at fault. However, other factors could be in play. There are other ways for a driver to exhibit negligence when backing up besides their lack of awareness. But it’s also important to understand that the car in the through lane could also exhibit negligence themselves. Both drivers could:

• Be intoxicated
• Be distracted
• Disobey traffic laws

These other negligence factors could explain why a back-up accident happened or why is was more severe than a usual one. If someone was backing out of a driveway and hit an oncoming car, but the person driving the oncoming car was speeding, then it may be more difficult to determine where the fault lies in this accident.

If you’ve been in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you may find the other party will try to put some of the fault on you regardless. Because of the state’s comparative fault law, your compensation could be reduced if you’re found to be partially at fault. For example, if the other party was found to be 80% at fault for the accident, then you wouldn’t be able to recover 100% of the damages. Your compensation would subtract the remaining 20% that you were at fault for.

This is why it’s essential to have trusted representation at your side after an accident occurs. It takes a skilled personal injury lawyer to prove the other party was at fault for your accident.

Prince Law Firm Is Here for You

We have helped countless Illinois citizens get the justice they deserve. Car accidents can cause terrible injuries, expensive medical bills, and pain and suffering. When Prince Law Firm is at your side, you’ll know we’re acting in your best interests.

To get started on your case, give our office a call today. We’ll schedule an obligation-free consultation where we go over the facts of your case and go over how you can proceed. Then, we can start to provide the peace of mind that you deserve.