How Do Insurance Adjusters Determine Fault After a Scranton Car Accident?

Insurance adjusters determine fault after a Scranton car accident by reviewing the police report, vehicle damage, witness statements, traffic law violations, and any available video footage. They apply Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence rule to assign each driver a percentage of responsibility. That percentage directly affects how much compensation you can recover, and if you are found 51% or more at fault, you cannot recover damages from the other driver.

After assigning fault percentages, the insurance company uses that determination to evaluate settlement value and decide whether to negotiate, deny, or dispute the claim.

What Does an Insurance Adjuster Actually Do After a Scranton Car Crash?

An insurance adjuster investigates the accident to determine:

1. How the crash occurred
2. Whether either driver violated traffic laws
3. Whether negligence contributed to the collision
4. What percentage of fault applies to each driver

Their goal is to limit the insurance company’s financial exposure.

That investigation typically begins within days of the crash.

If you have not already done so, you should review what steps to take immediately after a crash in our guide:What Should I Do at the Scene of a Car Accident?

The Role of Police in a Car Accident

Oftentimes, after the drivers themselves, a police officer will assess the accident scene and make their own judgment about what occurred and why. A police officer may question you and the other driver, as well as other witnesses on the scene, make note of the damage to the vehicles, draw a sketch of how the accident occurred, and note any compounding factors such as weather or darkness.

They will put all of this information into a police report, which can provide valuable evidence to help determine fault. You should definitely make sure you obtain a copy of the police report and read it thoroughly to see what information is contained within it.

However, police are not responsible for determining fault. That determination falls to insurance companies, and potentially to a judge or jury.

How Do State Laws Affect the Fault Determined By Car Insurance Companies?

After a car accident occurs, both drivers involved usually file an auto insurance claim with their insurance company. The claim goes to an insurance adjuster, whose job it is to investigate the accident and determine who is at fault in order to settle the insurance claim.

When car insurance companies determine fault, first they must take into account the state laws that govern negligence. The driver that was negligent is, in general terms, the one who is responsible for the car accident. However, determining fault is not always so simple.

In some cases, both drivers may bear some responsibility for an accident. For example, one car may stop suddenly short, and another car hit it from behind. How an insurance company determines fault may depend on how vehicles were obeying traffic laws or any mitigating factors such as bad weather conditions.

In these cases, an insurance adjuster for each driver’s insurance company will examine the facts of the accident, including the police report, if any, that was filed at the scene.

What If Both Parties Are Partially At Fault?

As car insurance companies determine fault, they may also conduct their own investigations, with an insurance adjuster interviewing both drivers and other witnesses mentioned in the police report or provided by drivers, and carefully considering the weather, visibility, and other factors that may have contributed to the auto accident.

After both insurance companies investigate, they may each assign a percentage of the blame to each driver, say 60 percent to one driver and 40 percent to the other, to mutually determine fault.

Often the insurance companies decide fault among themselves in assigning fault for the accident. If not, then the insurance companies usually take their disagreement to arbitration, relying on a private company to negotiate between them and make their own fault determination.

What If You Disagree With the Insurance Companies?

Most car accident cases are resolved through a claim settlement between the car accident victim and insurance companies–either their own auto insurance company or the other driver’s insurance company.

That doesn’t mean you have to accept the first claim settlement that an auto insurance company offers you, however. You may find that the amount offered is insufficient to cover your repair bills and medical expenses, which can often be the case for a car accident victim who requires extensive medical attention. Even in a no-fault state, you may disagree with the amount offered for property damage.

Or you may disagree with the way that the insurance adjuster determines fault for the auto accident. In that case, you have the right to file a car accident case in court.

Going to Small Claims Court

If the amount you are seeking is small, generally under a few thousand dollars, you can take the insurance company or other driver to small claims court, where it is possible to represent yourself without an accident attorney.

This court may be appropriate for example, in a case in which there was only property damage and not bodily injury. In more complicated cases, you should consult a trained car accident lawyer who can help you argue the case to earn maximum compensation.

Why You Should Hire an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer

When a car accident case makes it to court, the parties and their lawyers will argue the case in front of a judge or jury to make their own claims about who is at fault. The legal team may present evidence from the police report or a witness who claims differently than the way the insurance adjuster interpreted their information. Police reports are not infallible, and a legal team may call into question details in the police report contradicted by other evidence.

They may also offer evidence from medical records to show that the compensation being offered is not high enough. In cases where a car accident victim requires extensive medical attention, potential medical expenses can rise to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In addition, auto insurers may be required to pay money to the victim of a car accident for other tangible expenses such as lost wages and expenses for assistance with chores around the house; as well as intangible expenses such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

In these cases, an experienced car accident lawyer can help to make the arguments on your behalf to show how the other party was more at fault for an accident, or call into question the way that the insurance companies

Talk to a Scranton Car Accident Lawyer

If you have been injured in a car accident, contact Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys to find out what kind of compensation you might truly be entitled to receive. For over 60 years, Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys has represented hundreds of thousands of car accident victims throughout Pennsylvania to get the compensation needed to get them back on their feet.

Our car accident lawyers have consistently been named among the Best Lawyers in America, selected to Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, and are board certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. And, we get results – our lawyers have achieved numerous multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts.

Ask for a free consultation

The Scranton personal injury lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys care very deeply about our clients. Our compassionate attorneys and our entire staff will do everything in our power to help you during this time of need. You can count on our team—we have decades of success and satisfied clients, and we will devote all of the time and resources necessary for you to win your case.

We know you have questions but may be nervous to contact a car accident lawyer in Scranton, PA. That’s why our law firm offers FREE, no-obligation case evaluations to all accident victims. You can reach someone from our staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No matter how complicated or difficult your case may be, we will review the facts and explain what legal options are available to you. Chat live, email us, or call today.