Who Pays For Damages in a Multiple-Car Accident?

The moments after a car accident can be full of hectic emotion. After being involved in a car accident, the most important thing for a person to remember is to stay calm. It is hard to not let emotions rule actions. After remembering to stay calm, the scene needs to be assessed. If it is safe for an individual to get out of the car, they can do so. Check all of the parties for injuries. Then a person needs to call the police and ambulances if necessary. They cannot admit fault under any circumstances. They will exchange insurance contact information with the other drivers. Before leaving the scene, they should take photographs and videos of the scene. The individual needs to make sure that the photographs and the videos include all of the damages to all of the cars. The next step for a person to take is to find out where the incident report that the police filed can be found. The insurance companies will send an adjuster to assess the damages on the vehicles and to talk to all of the parties involved. There can be many adjusters depending on how many insurance companies are involved. If any of the parties involved in the multiple car accident have the same insurance company, than there might only be one adjuster for those parties. Some insurance companies also send an unbiased adjuster. If all of the insurance companies can agree on an adjuster, there may be only one.

It is very common for a person to wonder who pays for the damages when it is a multiple car accident. Generally, there is a combination of responsible parties. The more vehicles that are involved in a multiple car accident, the more confusion there is. An involved party of the accident will not usually have to do much of anything after the insurance companies are notified. The insurance companies should handle everything themselves. However, some insurance companies will try to contact the other involved parties. If this situation arises, a person needs to contact their insurance company. If there were any personal injuries that had occurred because of the car accident, the injured party should contact an attorney as well. The personal injury attorney will communicate with the other insurance companies as well as the other parties that were involved in the multiple car accident.

The car that hits another vehicle is usually the one at fault. The responsible party’s insurance company will pay the policy limit to each of the other parties. If the responsible party’s insurance company does not pay for all of the damages, the other parties can recoup their losses by suing the at fault party in court. If there are multiple vehicles that were at fault, then it becomes more complicated. Usually, the cost is split over the different vehicles.

Anyone who is involved in a multiple car accident should remain calm and collected. It is very important that they get all of the other parties’ insurance information. If they were unable to collect the information at the scene of the accident due to an injury, the other parties’ insurance information will be on the police incident report. The question of who will pay for the damages from a car accident is a complicated one. There are several variables that can affect the outcome of who pays. If one of the parties were uninsured, the situations can change. It is not always the car that hit another car who is at fault. If another party caused the accident, regardless if their car was involved in the accident; they may be responsible for a fraction or all of the incurred damages. Any person wants to avoid an accident at all costs but it is sometimes inevitable. The best way to be prepared for the unexpected accident is for a person to fully understand their personal insurance coverage.