Determining Fault After an Auto Accident in Las Cruces

Were you involved in a Las Cruces auto accident leading you to consider filing a lawsuit? A car accident can be hugely disruptive to your life and your finances, resulting in mechanic bills, hospital bills, and possibly, lost wages due to your lack of transportation. A lawsuit may your best chance at covering these expenses. If you are thinking about filing lawsuit, contact Carabin Shaw’s Las Cruces office today at 915-779-2301.

Before filing a lawsuit, it is important to first establish which party is at fault. If the insurers find you to be at fault, a court is unlikely to award you any damages in a lawsuit. However, if the other driver is named the at-fault party, you have grounds to sue not only for repair and medical bills, but damages for lost wages and pain and suffering. Following are some of the factors that insurers consider when determining fault after an auto accident in Las Cruces. If you believe that the other driver involved in your accident is guilty of any of these negligent acts, contact a Las Cruces car accident attorney to discuss the viability of a lawsuit.

Drunk or otherwise impaired driving is, for most insurers, the most apparent marker of fault. If the other driver in your accident is proven to have been under the influence at the time of the accident, it is almost definite that your insurers will name them as the at-fault party.

It is also important to note that many insurers consider drowsy driving to be a form of impaired driving, and will treat it as seriously as driving under the influence. If you were in a Las Cruces auto accident and have reason to believe that the other driver was under the influence or otherwise impaired at the time of the crash, get in touch with one of our attorneys to discuss possible legal proceedings.

If one driver involved in an accident clearly violated traffic laws while the other did not, insurers will almost definitely find the former driver to be at fault. Speeding, failing to signal a turn or lane change, or driving on the wrong side of the road all represent obvious traffic violations. If another driver rear-ends your vehicle, they likely failed to follow your vehicle at a safe distance, and are thus in violation of traffic law and at fault. If you are unsure as to whether you or the other driver more flagrantly violated traffic law, talk to an auto accident attorney serving Las Cruces about the details of your accident to determine whether or not you have viable grounds for a lawsuit.

Insurers sometimes look to personal conversations between drivers involved in an accident for evidence of fault. If one driver apologizes to the other for causing the accident, insurers might view it as an admission of fault. For this reason, you should consider recording your conversation with the other driver after an accident. If you believe that they said something that might constitute an admission of fault, talk to a Las Cruces car accident attorney with Carabin Shaw about the possibility of a lawsuit.

When looking for legal representation to assist you in recovering from a Las Cruces auto accident, keep in mind that they will be up against a corporate lawyer retained by the other driver’s insurance company. For this reason, you should look for an attorney with extensive experience representing cases like yours.

Carabin Shaw’s legal team represents decades of combined experience with auto accident lawsuits, and is dedicated to making sure that our clients get everything that they are legally owed. Contact our Las Cruces office at 915-779-2301 to start your process today.