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Being involved in a multi-car accident can leave you grappling with significant challenges, including physical injuries, property damage, and the complex process of determining fault and dealing with insurance claims.
Due to the number of parties involved and the potential for shared liability, multi-car pileups are often more complicated than single-vehicle accidents.
At Mann Law, we understand the stress and uncertainty that follows these collisions.
With over 50 years of combined experience, our team is here to guide you through the legal process, helping to ensure your rights are protected, and your compensation reflects the full scope of your losses.
This article will explore fault determination, how insurance works in multi-car accidents, and your legal options for seeking justice and financial recovery.
If you have questions, please contact our Maine car accident lawyers right away.
Determining who is at fault in a multi-car accident involves analyzing multiple factors. In particular, you look at each person involved, what actions they took related to the accident, and what those actions caused.
Usually, car accidents involve negligence, where a person causes or contributes to an accident without intending to.
In a multi-car accident, a legal claim typically involves two significant parties. The first party includes one or more people who were harmed by the accident, especially those who experienced injuries requiring medical treatment.
The second includes one or more people who caused or contributed to the harm—one or more people who were, at least partially, at fault.
If you sue the parties at fault and go to trial without settling, the process requires each party to present evidence. Then, a judge or jury decides:
Although we usually push toward settling, especially as we work with insurance companies, this legal process guides the settlement negotiations.
An attorney helps ensure fault is assigned fairly and helps navigate complex insurance claims. Legal guidance is essential to help protect your rights and secure the compensation you deserve.
Maine uses a comparative negligence system to account for multiple people being partially at fault in one car accident. Through this system, the judge or jury compares relative fault among the different people involved in the accident.
Based on how they assign fault, they may reduce what you can recover or prevent you from recovering any damages.
After the judge or jury determines who was at fault, they compare each individual’s relative percentage of that fault. Generally, the judge or jury reduces how much you can recover in damages by your relative percentage of fault.
Crucially, if the judge or jury concludes you were 50% or more responsible for the accident, you cannot recover damages under Maine law.
Ultimately, Because each at-fault party is typically responsible only for their portion of the damages they caused, you may need to file claims or lawsuits against multiple parties to recover the full amount of your losses.
Identifying all liable parties and properly allocating fault is critical to maximizing your compensation, making the guidance of an experienced attorney invaluable in these complex cases.
Assume Drivers A, B, C, and D were involved in a multi-car accident. Shortly before the accident, Driver A was driving ten to fifteen miles under the speed limit and repeatedly swerved within their lane and over the median line.
Without checking for oncoming traffic, Driver B sped past Driver A in a no-passing zone. As a result, Driver B collided with Driver C, who was approaching from the other direction.
Driver A swerved off the road and crashed, and Driver D, who was tailgating Driver C, rear-ended Driver C. Each driver was injured. Notably, evidence showed that Driver A had sent several text messages in the moments before the crash.
So, who was at fault? Apart from Driver C, each driver did something a reasonable driver in the circumstances might not have: Driver A was texting while driving, Driver B passed in a no-passing zone, and Driver D was following Driver C too closely.
Comparative fault allows a judge or jury to use common sense to decide who can recover damages.
In this scenario, a judge or jury might assign fault for the accident as follows:
Assume each driver requests damages of $100,000, and the judge or jury concludes that value is accurate. Under Maine’s comparative fault rules, each driver could recover a maximum of:
Because Driver B was more than 50% at fault, they can’t recover damages under Maine law even though Drivers A and D share partial fault for the accident.
Determining multi-car accident fault is only part of the equation—understanding how insurance works in multi-car accidents is equally important for navigating the claims process.
Insurance coverage in multi-car accidents involves nuanced interactions between liability, policy limits, and coverage types.
Generally, you request coverage by filing an insurance claim, a process that can vary by company, but which your lawyer can guide you through.
The process is guided by the underlying legal rules, but you often have a greater opportunity to negotiate during the claims process.
Ultimately, you might wait to file a lawsuit until the insurance company refuses to pay or doesn’t pay enough through the claims process.
If you take the case to court, each at-fault driver’s insurer typically pays based on their policyholder’s percentage of fault. However, insurance companies often settle before you ask a judge or jury to allocate fault.
Without that official allocation, your attorney has greater flexibility to negotiate with insurance companies based on what might happen in court, presenting your role in the accident in the best light.
They can also press the insurance company to decide whether going to court instead of settling is worth the cost.
Maine follows a system of joint and several liability, which means that an injured party may recover all their damages from a single at-fault party even if multiple parties are at fault. It is then the responsibility of the defendant to seek contribution from the other at-fault parties for their share of the damages.
Victims may need to file claims with multiple insurers, especially if damages exceed a single at-fault party’s policy limits.
In cases where at-fault drivers lack adequate coverage or are uninsured, victims may need to rely on their uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. UM/UIM policies protect victims by covering damages that the at-fault drivers cannot pay.
Understanding how insurance policies interact—such as which policies are primary or secondary, how policy limits apply, and the circumstances that trigger UM/UIM coverage—is critical for securing compensation.
An experienced attorney can guide you through these complexities, advocate for fair fault allocation, and ensure you pursue all available avenues for recovery.
Victims of multi-car accidents can pursue several types of compensation, including:
Navigating the aftermath of a multi-car accident involves understanding the types of compensation available and how to pursue them effectively.
Securing fair compensation can make a difference in your recovery. However, the process of filing claims and proving damages can be complex, especially in cases involving multiple parties.
An experienced legal team can make all the difference in navigating the complexities of a multi-car accident claim. That’s where Mann Law comes in.
Dedicated to helping accident victims like you, our team provides the guidance and support needed to address these challenges. Let’s explore how Mann Law can assist you in achieving a favorable outcome.
A multi-car accident can create uncertainty about fault, insurance coverage, and legal rights. At Mann Law, recognized as the Best Personal Injury Firm in the Best of 207 competition for 2022 and 2023, we provide personalized legal support backed by extensive experience in Maine accident cases.
Our skilled personal injury attorneys are dedicated to securing the best possible outcomes, guiding you through every step of the claims process to help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
Contact Mann Law today for a free consultation, and let us handle the legal complexities so you can focus on your recovery.
