4 Common Car Accident Scenarios and How to Determine Fault | Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers

ccidents h

ppen eve

y d

y. In f

ct,

cco

ding to the<

ef="https:

shst

ts.nhts

.dot.gov/

Public/Vie

Public

tion/812951″> N

tion

l High

y T

ffic S

fety

dminist

tion > (NHTS

), the

e 6,734,000 police-

epo

ted

ccidents in one

ecent ye. Th

t’s

ge of ove

18,000

ccidents pe

nkfully,

t de

l of these e minoccidents.

dless of the seve

ity of the

ccident, the

e’s one c

itic

l f

ll insunce comp

nies

ill nt to kno

HO’S
T F
ULT?

Let’s be honest. The go
l of
ll insu

nce comp
nies is to get
y
ith p
ying
s little
s possible. They

e in the business of m
king money, no m
tte
ho
much they cl
im they nt to t
ke c

e of people.

If they c
n
ssign bl
me to you, they
ill.

So
hile
n
ccident m
y seem st

ightfo

d, insu

nce comp
nies
ill
lys t
y to find some

y to spin it in thei
f
vo
. The
e

e seve

l scen

ios, ho
eve
,
he
e it’s
ctu
lly
“no-bine
” to dete
mine
ho the
t-f
ult p

ty is. The expe
ienced <
h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.com
se
vices
c

–
ccident-
tto
ney-houston
“>c
ccident
tto
neys<>
t the Ste
t J. Guss, Inju
y
ccident Lye
s h
ve outlined
fe
of these situ
tions belo
. Of cou
se, some
ccidents seem e
sy to figu
e out, but
hen you
nd you
leg
l te
m dig
little deepe
, nothing is
t it seems. Th
t’s
hy it’s impo
t
nt fo
you to neve
discuss f
ult
t the scene of
n
ccident.

He
e’s
look
t some of the most common scenios, plus
fe
f
cto
s th
t m
y ch
nge the cou
se of
leg
l c
se.

Scen

io 1:
e-End
ccident

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ccident-300×200.jpg”
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“>
e-end
ccidents > e one of the most stight-fod types of
ccidents.

e

-end
ccident h
ppens
hen one vehicle
uns into
nothe
vehicle f
om behind. The collision involves the f
ont end of the “t

iling” vehicle
nd the
e

-end of the “le
ding” vehicle. Minoe-end collisions e commonly kno
n
s “fende
bende
s,” but
lot of d
m
ge lu
ks behind th
t cutesy n
me.
e

-end
ccidents e some of the most common types of
ccidents on the
o
d. In f
ct,
cco
ding to the N
tion
l Highy Tffic S
fety
dministtion,<
h
ef="https:
/
.ntsb.gov
s
fety
s
fety-
le
ts
Documents/S
-046.pdf"> nely h
lf > of
ll t
o-vehicle cshes du
ing one th
ee-ye pe
iod
e
e
e-end
ccidents! The p
imy c
use? D
IVE
IN
TTENTION. In
lmost
ll c
ses, the t

iling d
ive
is the
t-f
ult p

ty. This scen

io h
ppens so often th
t this is usu
lly the def
ult
ssumption of investig
to
s
nd insu

nce c
ie
s.
s
d
ive
, you h
ve esponsibility to m
int
in
s
fe d
iving dist
nce
nd be

e of you
suoundings. Even if the le
d d
ive
unexpectedly sl
mmed on thei
b

kes, it is expected you should h
ve enough time to stop. This is
hy t
ilg
ting is unive
s
lly f
o
ned upon.
e-end
ccidents h
ppen eve
y
he
e. Some of the most common loc
tions foe-end
ccidents include:

Stoplights: The
e e t
o

ys

e

-end
ccident h
ppens
t stoplights. Scenio one: the d
ive
is stopped
t

ed light,
nd the vehicle behind them does not stop in time. Scenio t
o: both vehicles

e stopped
t ed light, the light tu
ns g
een,
nd the t

iling vehicle st

ts to go befo
e the le
d vehicle.

P

king lots:
e-end
ccidents in p

king lots

e common. One of the m
in
e
sons fo
this is vehicles

e
lys stopping
nd going. D
ive
s h
ve to stop fo
pedest
i
ns
nd othe
moto
ists
s they move th
oughout the lot.
n
ccident c
n e
sily occuhen the
e

d
ive
does not see the d
ive
in f
ont of them stop.<
li>

In the middle of the
o
d:

e

-end
ccident c
n h
ppen
hen one d
ive
stops to m
ke
tu
n o
yield to
pedest
i
n. Most d
ive
s don’t
nticip
te stops in the middle of the
o
d
nd c
n be t
ken by su
p
ise.

The f
eey: 
ush hou
c
n be
nightm

e fo
d
ive
s. He
vy congestion
nd me
ging d
ive
s me
n plenty of stop-
nd-go t

ffic.
ccidents h
ppen
hen
vehicle stops suddenly,
nothe
d
ive
moves in unexpectedly, o

d
ivecceletes too quickly.
e

-end collisions

e even
o
se
hen they h
ppen
t high f
ee

y speeds.

Scen

io 2: D
ive
n

ed Light

D
ive
s
unning
ed lights

e
se
ious p
oblem.
cco
ding to
, in

ecent ye

the
e
e
e<
h
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ths-c
used-by-
ed-light-
unne
s-hit-
-10-ye

-high-
-s
ys/”> 939 f
t
lities > c
used by
d
ive

unning

ed light. These numbe
s keep going up ove
time.
hen
d
iveuns ed light, the most common type of collision is
T-bone collision,
lso kno
n
s
side-imp
ct o
b
o
dside collision. This type of
ccident occu
s
hen the f
ont end of
vehicle collides
ith the side of
vehicle. Comped to othe
p

ts of the vehicle, the side of
vehicle p
ovides much less p
otection in the event of
n
ccident. Th
t’s
h
t m
kes these types of
ccidents so d
nge
ous.
egdless of
hethe
the c th
t

n the
ed light st
uck
nothe
vehicle o
s st
uck by oncoming t

ffic, the pe
son
ho

n the
ed light is typic
lly
t f
ult.

Common
e
sons fo

unning

ed light include:

The d
ive
s in
huy: In the 1984 movie St

m
n, the
e’s
cl
ssic line f
om
n
lien d
ive

ho c
uses
n
ccident: "
ed light me
ns stop, g
een light me
ns go, yello
light me
ns go ve
y f
st!"
hile the quote is humo
ous, it
lso expl
ins
d
nge
ous ment
lity m
ny d
ive
s h
ve. Of cou
se, the
pp
op
i
te
ction
t
yello
light is to slo
do
n
nd stop
hen s
fe,
nd the
pp
op
i
te
ction
t

ed light is obvious – STOP!
hen d
ive
s t
y to speed th
ough yello
lights, they
un the
isk of the light tu
ning
ed
hile they e in the inte
section. Othe
d
ive
s m
y p
oceed on
g
een light
nd d
ive into the d
ive
.<
li>

D
iving unde
the influence: One of the most common c
uses of d
ive
s
unning
ed lights is <
h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.com
se
vices
houston-d
unk-d
iving-dui-o
-d
i-
ccident-
tto
ney
“>d
iving unde
the influence >.
lcohol
ffects
d
ive
’s
bility to concentte, m
ke decisions,
nd even see clely.<
li>

Dist

cted d
iving: Seve

l st
tes h
ve en
cted ls to<
h
ef="http:
/
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g/
esech
t

nspo
t
tion/cellul

-phone-use-
nd-texting-
hile-d
iving-ls.
spx”> p
ohibit mobile phone us
ge >
hile d
iving, yet <
h
ef="https:
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yvictims.com
dist

cted-d
iving-negligence-
nd-the-inju
ies-th
t-
esult
“>dist

cted d
iving<> continues to be
se
ious p
oblem.
hen d
ive
s t
ke thei
eyes off the
o
d to sn
ck, ch
t, o
pl
y on thei
sm

tphone, they m
y not
e
lize th
t the light h
s tu
ned
ed,
nd othe
people suffe
the consequences.

Scen

io 3: Collisions Involving
Left Tu
n
ith No Tu
n Sign
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Left tu
ns
equi
e d
ive
s to tu
n in f
ont of oncoming tffic. This c
n be ve
y d
nge
ous
t
n inte
section
he
e the d
ive
does not h
ve
tu
n light. If
d
ive
is m
king
left tu
n
t
g
een light, he o
she is expected to yield to oncoming tffic. This me
ns th
t the d
ive
must it until the
e is enough
oom fo
him o
he
to tu
n, even if it me
ns

iting th
ough mo
e th
n one light cycle. Left tu
ns on solid g
een lights c
n t
ke
long time. This c
n c
use the tu
ning d
ive
to become imp
tient
nd t
ke
isks
hen m
king
tu
n.
he
e
mo
e expe
ienced d
ive
m
y it fo lge
indo
, someone in
hu

y m
y
ush th
ough the inte
section
nd c
use
pile-up. The oncoming d
ive
m
y hit the tu
ning d
ive
on the side ot
n
ngle. In m
ny c
ses, the fo
ce of this
ccident c
n push both vehicles into othe
vehicles, c
using
n even mo
e se
ious
ccident!

Scen

io 4: P

king Lot
ccidents

P

king lot
ccidents h
ppen
ll the time. Th
nkfully, most of these
ccidents involve lo
speeds
nd mino
inju
ies. But sometimes even
lo
-speed csh c
n c
use
se
ious inju
y, such
s neck
nd b
ck inju
ies o
othe
soft tissue inju
ies. He
e

e
fe
common types of p

king lot
ccident scenios:

d
ive
is hit
hile b
cking out of
pking sp
ce. In this c
se, the d
ive
th
t is b
cking up
ould no
m
lly be
t f
ult. This m
y seem counte
intuitive since
e
l
e
dy kno
th
t
e need to
llo
enough sp
ce to
e
ct to othe
d
ive
s; ho
eve
, in this scenio, the d
ive
moving fod h
s the
ight of y. D
ive
s b
cking out of
sp
ce should
lys check thei
mi

o
s
nd m
ke su
e thei
e
is cle

befo
e moving.<
li>

d
ive
is moving out of
p

king sp
ce
nd exiting fo

d th
ough
n empty sp
ce. Sometimes, it just seems simple
to d
ive th
ough the empty sp
ce in f
ont of you to exit you
sp
ce inste
d of b
cking up. But
h
t h
ppens if
nothe
d
ive
doesn’t see you
nd is ente
ing the sp
ce
t the s
me time th
t you

e t
ying to exit it?
g
in, the d
ive
exiting the sp
ce is
t f
ult bec
use they e technic
lly going the

ong

y, but in te
ms of li
bility, this situ
tion c
n be ve
y complic
ted.

T
o vehicles collide
fte
t
ying to ente
the s
me sp
ce. One m
y gue th
t the d
iveho s the
e fi
st h
d the
ight of y, but this isn’t
e
lly
solid leg
l gument. You c
nnot leg
lly hold
p

king sp
ce. In this scenio, it comes do
n to
ho h
s the
ight of y. This is
nothe
situ
tion th
t c
n be ve
y complic
ted to figu
e out.<
li>

T
o vehicles collide
t the end of
n
isle.
hen one d
ive
is coming to the end of
n
isle
nd the othe
d
ive
is d
iving pe
pendicul to the
isles, the inte
section should be t
e
ted
s
n “unsign
lized” inte
section.
hile the pe
son d
iving pe
pendicul to the
isles m
y think th
t they h
ve the
ight of

y bec
use they e in
“l
ne,” the pe
son in the
isle m
y be continuing into
l
ne to exit the p

king lot. The
e e m
ny f
cto
s th
t come into pl
y in such
n
ccident,
nd li
bility m
y be hd to dete
mine.
qu
lified
tto
ney m
y be
ble to help.

V

i
bles Th
t M
y
ffect
ho Is
t-F
ult

Eve
y
ccident is unique.
hile the
e

e some situ
tions
he
e the f
ult is c
yst
l cle

f
om
ny outside
’s pe
spective, othe
f
cto
s m
y completely sh
ke things up. Fo
ex
mple, the fi
st scen

io of

e

-end collision outlines th
t the tiling d
ive
is
lmost
lys
t f
ult. But let’s th
o
in
cu
veb
ll: the f
ont d
ive
s completely d
unk
nd ndomly stopped in the middle of the
o
d fo
no
e
son. In this c
se, the le
d d
iveould likely be dete
mined to be
t f
ult.

Even if you think you c
used
n
ccident, NEVEDMIT BL
ME
nd m
ke su
e to h
ve
pe
son
l inju
y
tto
ney look
t the f
cts of the c
se. T
ke
look
t some othe
f
cto
s th
t m
y m
ke things
little mo
e complic
ted th
n they
ppe:

<
h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.com
ho
-to-spot-
-f
tigued-d
ive

“>D
ive
f
tigue >: <
b>Ti
ed d
ive
s e just
s d
nge
ous
s d
unk d
ive
s.
hen you e ove
ly exh
usted, you
body c
n shut do
n
ith no notice.
d
ive
m
y stop suddenly, s
e
ve, o
begin to decele

te.

D
unk d
iving: D
unk d
ive
s en’t just iesponsible, they’
e unp
edict
ble. Bec
use of this, it’s hd to
nticip
te theictions.
d
unk d
ive
m
y d
ive too slo
, too f
st, o
m
ke unexpected stops.<
li>

Mech
nic
l f
ilu
e: Sometimes c

s f
il. Vehicle o
ne
s e
esponsible fo
p
ope
ly m
int
ining thei
vehicles.
hen
n
ccident h
ppens bec
use of poo
m
inten
nce
eco
ds, the d
iveill be
t f
ult. Ho
eve
, if
defective p

t cont
ibuted to the
ccident, the collision m
y h
ve been out of the d
ive
’s cont
ol. In this c
se, the vehicle o
pt m
nuf
ctu
e
m
y sh

e
esponsibility.<
li>

Othe
d
ive
s: Sometimes, it is the
ctions of
thi
d d
ive
th
t c
uses
collision. Fo
ex
mple, if d
ive cuts in f
ont of d
ive
B, d
ive
B m
y s
e
ve into the
dj
cent l
ne to
void
collision. This m
y c
use d
ive
B to d
ive he
d-on into d
ive
C. In this c
se, d
ive

m
y be
esponsible fo
the inju
ies
nd d
m
ges to d
ive
B
nd d
ive
C.

Ho

Pe
son
l Inju
y
tto
ney C
n Help

e style="
idth: 243px” cl
ss="
p-c
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ight">ss=”” title=”Ste
t J. Guss" s
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ccident-lye
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lt="Ste
t J. Guss Pe
son
l Inju
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ney"
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ss=”
p-c
ption-text”><
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
ou
-te
m/ste
t-guss
“>Ste
t J. Guss<>, Pe
son
l Inju
y L

ye
<
figc
ption><
figu
e>
fte

n
ccident involving inju
ies, it’s c
uci
l to t
lk to
pe
son
l inju
y
tto
ney. Even if you think th
t you might hold some of the bl
me,
n expe
ienced
tto
ney c
n help you dete
mine
hethe
th
t is
ctu
lly the c
se (
nd in m
ny c
ses, IT’S NOT!)

Insu

nce comp
nies t
y to dete
mine f
ult e

ly on,
nd they
ill t
y to pl
ce the bl
me on
nyone but the d
ive
th
t they insu
e. Th
t’s
hy you should NEVE
m
ke
st
tement to
n insunce comp
ny
ithout fi
st consulting
ith
n
tto
ney. The
e e m
ny things th
t
n
tto
ney c
n do to help p
ove f
ult in
n
ccident. This m
y include:

T
lking to othe
d
ive
s
nd
itnesses

Collecting evidence

Hi
ing speci
lists to
econst
uct the
ccident<
li>

Once f
ult h
s been dete
mined,
pe
son
l inju
y
tto
ney c
n help you file
pe
son
l inju
y l

suit.
e unde
st
nd
ccidents m
y le
ve se
ious inju
ies th
t c
n h
ve
t
emendous effect on you
physic
l, emotion
l,
nd fin
nci
l
ell-being.

If you
e
e inju
ed in
c
ccident, you dese
ve f
i
compens
tion. You dese
ve JUSTICE Fo
mo
e info
m
tion, <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
cont
ct-us
“>cont
ct<>
n expe
ienced c
ccident
tto
ney.

ligncente

p-im
ge-19228 size-full" title="Expe
ienced C
ccident
tto
neys" s
c=”https://c

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-Design-im
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lt="Ste
t J. Guss”
idth="176" height="97"
> >n style=”colo
: #ed8917;">★ ★ ★ ★ ★<
sp
n>

Four Common Car Accident Scenarios: Understanding Who Is At-Fault

Scen

io 1:
e-End
ccident

Scen

io 2: D
ive
n

ed Light

Scen

io 3: Collisions Involving
Left Tu
n
ith No Tu
n Sign
l<
b>

Scen

io 4: P

king Lot
ccidents<
b>

V

i
bles Th
t M
y
ffect
ho Is
t-F
ult<
b>

Ho

Pe
son
l Inju
y
tto
ney C
n Help

Testimonials

Scen io 1: e-End ccident

Scen io 2: D iven ed Light

Scen io 3: Collisions Involving Left Tun ith No Tun Sign l<b>

Scen io 4: P king Lot ccidents<b>

V i bles Tht M y ffect ho Is t-F ult<b>

Ho Pe sonl Inju y tto ney Cn Help