Insurance liability scenario

[Kerrie619]

I have a general question concerning car accidents and at fault.

Suppose there is a 4 car pile up on the freeway. Car A gets hit by car B. Car B gets hit by car C. Car C gets hit by Car D. Who is normally at fault in this case? Is there ever a case where D is responsible for all A, B, and C?

 

[The New Guy]

I would say that if car D was going the wrong way down the freeway, they would be liable for all involved, who scrambled to get out of the way.

 

[djs]

You would need a lot more specifics to even come close to figuring this out. Car D would only be responsible if he did something that caused all of the rest of the accidents, not very likely, but possible.

I used to see this more often when I lived somewhere that had ice and snow. Black ice would cause this type of thing to happen, but car D would only be responsible for him hitting C, not C hitting B and on up.

Dan

 

[Consultant]

You would need a lot more specifics to even come close to figuring this out. Car D would only be responsible if he did something that caused all of the rest of the accidents, not very likely, but possible.

I used to see this more often when I lived somewhere that had ice and snow. Black ice would cause this type of thing to happen, but car D would only be responsible for him hitting C, not C hitting B and on up.

Dan

I agree. California almost has a silver bullet law that if you hit someone in the rear its almost always your fault.

Each car is responsible for having a cushion from the car in front.

That's why if your tailing a Mercedez - you better have good brakes because they can stop faster than 99% of all other cars on the road and you won't have a chance in hell in not crashing.