We typically think of car accidents involving only two drivers: one who was the victim and one who was at fault. In reality, many crashes involve multiple cars, and potentially multiple at-fault drivers.
Car accident cases are commonly brought against multiple at-fault parties, and victims can be blamed for partial fault as well. Whether your case should be against one or multiple drivers will depend on how many cars were in the crash and how many drivers did something wrong. However, outside parties – such as auto manufacturers or employers of commercial drivers – can also be held liable.
For a free review of your car accident case, call the Las Vegas, NV car accident lawyers at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law at (702) 702-2622 today.
How is Fault Determined in a Nevada Car Accident Case?
Nevada uses an at-fault or “tort” car insurance system, meaning that the at-fault driver pays for damages. Determining who is at fault – and whether multiple drivers are at fault – is a vital step in resolving a car accident case.
Elements of Fault
For any driver to be deemed “at fault” to any degree, there must be evidence that they committed negligence. This can involve acts or omissions that satisfy these four elements:
- The defendant owed a legal duty to the victim.
- The defendant breached that duty.
- The breach caused the accident.
- The accident caused damages and injuries.
In a car crash, this often involves an explicit traffic violation that caused the crash, such as speeding, drunk driving, or tailgating.
Degree of Fault
Once a party is found to have passed that threshold, they are “at fault.” Then the question becomes how much fault they shared.
With even one at-fault defendant, the court can still find the victim shared some degree of fault if they also violated a legal duty. This means that even two-car crashes can involve a question of degree. Victims can still recover damages as long as their degree of comparative negligence is 50% max.
With more than two cars, fault may need to be spread among multiple defendants. Courts compare how bad each driver’s actions were and how much their breach caused the accident. For example, one driver who was drunk, speeding, and ran a stop sign might be deemed more at fault than a driver who looked down to send a text for a second and crashed.
Damages
Once a percentage of fault is assigned to each at-fault driver, they pay that percentage of the total damages in the case. The jury figures out the damages separately from fault, then the court applies these percentages.
If multiple drivers are at fault, they may each be able to afford their damages, even if their insurance policy has a lower policy limit. Spreading the damages this way can often get victims paid even in expensive cases.
If a victim is deemed to share a portion of the blame, they lose that percentage of the total damages. If a victim is over 50% at fault, they lose their case and get nothing.
Other Liable Parties
Our Boulder City, NV car accident lawyers can bring some injury claims against outside parties other than the drivers. The following are some of the most common:
The Vehicle Owner
If the vehicle is owned by someone else, they can be liable in two common ways:
- They lent their car to a dangerous driver they should have known would be likely to cause an accident (e.g., an unlicensed teen, someone with a suspended license, someone who already totaled their own car)
- The vehicle had mechanical or maintenance issues they knew or should have known would make it dangerous.
A Commercial Driver’s Employer
If the driver who hit you was a commercial driver, such as a trucker, they could be liable in a few ways:
- Commercial drivers’ employers can be held responsible for accidents their drivers cause during the scope of their employment.
- As the vehicle owner, they could be responsible for negligent maintenance, upkeep, or mechanical issues.
- They could be liable for negligent hiring or retention of a dangerous driver.
- They could share liability for various trucking or commercial driving regulatory violations.
Auto Manufacturers or Repair Shop
If the accident was caused wholly or in part because of an issue with the vehicle or auto parts, then fault or part of the fault could be assigned to an outside party. If the auto defect came from the factory, it would be the auto manufacturer’s fault; if it came from negligent repairs or installation, it could be the repair shop’s fault.
Governments
Negligent road upkeep or dangerous repairs by contactors could contribute to crashes, though holding the government responsible for dangerous roads is sometimes an uphill battle.
FAQs for Holding Multiple Parties at Fault in a Car Accident Case
How Do You Bring Claims Against Multiple Parties?
In an insurance claim, the insurance company may offer a settlement that includes a stipulation that the damages offered are meant to satisfy only a portion of the total damages. Our lawyers can see that these stipulations are fair and cover a reasonable portion of the damages.
Any party that does not settle can be taken to court, and we can seek their share of damages there. If the degree of fault is wrong in the initial settlements, this could leave areas of damages uncompensated, so it is important that your lawyer take all parties into account.
How Do You Tell Who’s at Fault?
Fault is determined by looking at the whole picture: who was involved, what they were doing, what happened leading up to the crash, and how much damage each person caused. This can mean looking at how their actions overlapped or combined together, as well as whether the crash would still have happened if the other person wasn’t involved.
Can You Get Money from Multiple Insurance Policies?
Any one driver might have state minimum insurance covering only $25,000 per person for injuries. If your damages are higher than this, suing multiple parties could mean getting up to $25,000 from each person, plus tapping into your underinsured motorist insurance (if you have it) for unpaid damages.
Spreading the blame across multiple drivers and insurance policies or adding wealthy trucking companies to the case is often a great way to get damages paid when individual drivers have low policy limits.
Call Our Nevada Car Accident Lawyers for Help
If you were involved in a crash, call the Enterprise, NV car accident lawyers at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law at (702) 702-2622 to get started with a free case review.