Maryland Rear End Collision Accidents
In general a rear-end collision involves one vehicle striking the rear of another vehicle. Now it could be an accident involving two cars, it can be an accident involving multiple cars or what they call a Davy chain accident. Meaning that one car hits the back of another and pushes that car into the back of another and so on. In other words, a chain reaction.
Typically the person who strikes someone in the rear first and causes someone to be pushed into another car is liable for the damages to both of the cars in front of them. A rear-end accident is probably one of the easiest cases from a liability standpoint to prove unless the person has a very good explanation for why they caused the accident. If you have been involved in a rear end collision and think you may be eligible for damages, call and discuss your case with a Maryland car accident lawyer today.
Common Scenarios Where Read End Collisions Take Place
A rear end collision occurs for a number of reasons. The most common one would be if someone is driving aggressively or speeding or following too closely to the cars ahead of them. And it usually involves one or more cars waiting at a stop sign, traffic light or merging intersection.
If there’s a traffic jam around a corner or a curve in the road and all the vehicles are stopped, and the person who’s in the rear doesn’t pay attention to the vehicles stopped ahead of them then oftentimes they’ll hit someone in the rear because they weren’t paying full time and attention to the road.
What Constitutes Distracted Driving?
Some examples of distracted driving include by either eating something, smoking a cigarette, drinking a cup of coffee or looking to even change the CD or the radio station or if someone is texting or talking on the phone or watching a video on their phone. Another scenario for a rear end collision is if they’re in a stop and go traffic. If the person who is behind thinks that the person ahead of them is going to go further than they do and they accelerate and run into the back of the car ahead of them.
Other times for a rear end collision is when there is snow or ice in the road or when there’s rainy conditions. It’s just that when there’s adverse conditions the person has to or is supposed to and is duty bound to drive with more care than they would normally if it was clear road condition because they failed to exercise that higher level of care.
Is Fault Always Assigned to the Person That Hit Other Car?
No, that’s not always true and especially in a state like where they have contributory negligence. If someone is found to be 1% at fault even though someone rear-ended them, they don’t automatically win. One example of that is if the person in the lead car stops short or changes lane suddenly, although the person behind them hit them in the rear, they changed lanes suddenly and essentially cut that person off. That can serve as a basis for allowing a finder of fact for determination.
How Is Fault Generally Assigned in Rear-End Collisions
Typically it’s the person who is in the rear who is at fault for hitting another car. One of the reasons that they can give is because a person cut them or because the person ahead of them stopped short or if there is something obstructing their view or the person ahead of them presented them with an emergency situation such as, crossing freely into traffic or stopping short on a green light or several other reasons.
Why Is It Important To Contact An Attorney Early On?
You want to contact an attorney as soon as possible because part of the case is establishing who is at fault and establishing how the accident happened. If you’re unable to do that entirely by yourself, you’d want to have an attorney involved right away so that you can have the attorney get the police report and send an investigator to the scene to talk to any potential witnesses about the case, to take photographs of the scene, to take photographs of your vehicle, and to take photographs of the other vehicle involved.
