Accidents involving multiple cars are often devastating to victims. To get the compensation they deserve, New Jersey victims should learn how these collisions generally happen and who exactly can be held liable.
Generally, multi-vehicle accidents happen when more than one New Jersey driver acts negligently. That means several parties may be responsible for your injuries after a crash. Determining fault in multi-vehicle accidents is often challenging, as negligent parties may have conflicting accounts. Hiring an experienced lawyer can help victims learn who is liable for their injuries and avoid New Jersey’s modified comparative fault laws impacting their access to damages. Although recovering damages after a multi-vehicle accident in New Jersey can be complicated, your skilled attorney can stand by your side and help you succeed.
Our attorneys are dedicated to helping car accident victims throughout New Jersey hold negligent drivers accountable. For a free case evaluation with the New Jersey car accident lawyers at Legal Care, call today at (732) 838-9769.
How Do Multi-Vehicle Accidents Happen in New Jersey?
Multi-vehicle accidents are generally frightening and damaging. One person’s negligence can cause a chain reaction, resulting in multiple victims sustaining serious injuries and property damage. On the other hand, several negligent drivers can share liability for the damages caused in a multi-vehicle accident. In New Jersey, that’s generally the case.
Chain Reactions
One of the biggest causes of multi-vehicle accidents in New Jersey is chain-reaction collisions. This means that one driver initially acts negligently, and then another follows suit, harming multiple drivers on the road. Chain-reaction accidents often happen in cases of rear-ending. While it’s possible that multiple drivers can be responsible for a chain-reaction accident because of speeding or careless driving, it’s also possible that the initial driver is solely liable.
Bad Driving Conditions
Another common cause of multi-vehicle accidents in New Jersey is reckless driving during bad weather or at night. Suppose it’s a particularly snowy or rainy day with low visibility and a negligent driver speeds, causing a crash. In that case, other drivers on the road that aren’t carefully operating their vehicles to account for the weather may add to the devastation. This can also happen at night if other drivers do not have their headlights on or are tired and unable to react quickly to an accident before them.
Determining Fault in a Multi-Vehicle Accident in New Jersey
When several parties are involved in a multi-vehicle accident, it can be difficult to determine fault. That is why it’s important for victims to hire a Newark car accident lawyer. Having a skilled attorney in your corner will help you know who to sue in the event you sustain serious injuries in a multi-vehicle accident.
After a car accident involving several parties, each person may have a different account of what happened. The more people involved, the less cohesive these accounts may be, especially if negligent parties wish to confuse the subject of fault.
That said, New Jersey police officers will complete a crash report when called to an accident site and interview all involved parties and eyewitnesses. During this time, it’s important to inform law enforcement officials of your injuries so that your attorney can use a police report to support your compensation claim.
Since multi-vehicle accidents can be quite complicated, it benefits victims to hire an attorney. Your Jersey City car accident lawyer can uncover evidence that illuminates which parties are liable for causing or contributing to a devastating accident that caused your injuries. For example, a skilled attorney will know to search for a security or traffic camera footage of an accident and speak to eyewitnesses.
Determining fault in a multi-vehicle accident can be a tricky process. Generally, it takes police officers a significant amount of time to investigate these collisions. Having a dedicated lawyer that will do everything within their power to unearth evidence supporting your claim is important. Be sure to keep any medical records and get a copy of the police report for the crash. An attorney can help you navigate an investigation to learn which parties to sue for compensatory damages.
How Can New Jersey’s Comparative Fault Laws Affect Multi-Vehicle Accident Lawsuits?
Because of New Jersey’s comparative fault laws, litigating multi-vehicle accidents can be complex. These laws can make it difficult for victims to recover compensatory damages in a lawsuit against a negligent party if they share fault. It can also make it difficult to hold all liable parties accountable properly. That is where your experienced attorney comes in.
When multiple parties are involved in a car accident, New Jersey’s modified comparative fault laws can come into play in a significant way. In New Jersey, victims can only recover if they’re found to be less than 50% at fault for their injuries.
Say a victim is found to be partially responsible. In that case, they can still sue but will see their damages reduced in proportion to their liability. Since it can be difficult to determine fault in multi-vehicle accidents, comparative fault can become a significant hurdle for victims.
Suppose you don’t have a dedicated Elizabeth, NJ car accident lawyer. In that case, negligent parties may argue that you share significant blame for a collision. If your damages are severely reduced, you may be unable to pay for medical bills and lost wages resulting from a devastating multi-vehicle collision. Unfortunately, victims without representation may be unaware of New Jersey’s modified comparative fault laws and unknowingly accept liability during an investigation.
This is precisely when having an attorney is crucial. Your New Jersey lawyer will be aware of these hurdles and help you navigate difficult settlement negotiations with negligent parties. Your attorney can also accurately attribute fault to liable parties and request damages according to their proportion of fault.
Call Our Attorneys After a Multi-Vehicle Accident in New Jersey
If you’ve recently sustained injuries in a multi-vehicle accident and need help determining liability, reach out to our attorneys. For a free case evaluation with the Paterson car accident lawyers at Legal Care, call today at (732) 838-9769.
