Who Is At Fault In An Intersection Accident In California?

If you’ve recently been injured in an accident that occurred in an intersection, you likely have questions about your contribution to the crash in relation to everyone else’s fault for the cause. Intersection crashes tend to be confusing and complicated because it’s rare that there is absolute clarity about what caused the wreck and who should be held accountable for it. Thankfully, you don’t need to navigate the aftermath of an intersection collision alone. Our skilled legal team can investigate the circumstances that led to your crash and determine who was at fault and the value of your case so that you can make informed choices about pursuing legal action. 

Investigating The Circumstances

Two broad principles govern interactions at intersections, no matter where you may be traveling in the U.S. First, if there is more than one stop sign at an intersection, whoever arrives at the intersection first is granted the right of way. This rule obviously doesn’t apply to intersections monitored via stop lights or a single stop sign. At light-controlled intersections, all drivers must obey the lighted commands. At intersections that only require select approaching vehicles to stop, those that aren’t subject to signage have the right of way.

Second, if multiple drivers approach an intersection at which they all must stop, and they all arrive at the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left must defer to the driver on the right. It isn’t always easy to know whether all drivers have followed the mandates for any of these interactions. This is one of the reasons why our investigations team will gather any surveillance footage that may give a clear indication of who arrived at the intersection – and under what conditions – immediately before your crash. This kind of investigative technique can be invaluable when determining causation and fault for an intersection crash. 

Partial Liability Concerns

Many intersection accident injury victims avoid exploring their legal options because they’re concerned that they were at fault or that their case isn’t going to be worth much. In reality, most injury victims have grounds to file potentially successful lawsuits. Unlike in California, many other states prohibit accident victims from seeking compensation if they are partially or primarily responsible for their harm. But California is a pure comparative negligence state, which means that accident victims aren’t restricted from seeking compensation from other responsible parties in proportion to their degree of fault. 

As a result of these realities, it’s important to speak with an attorney about your options, even if you believe that you’re partially to blame for what happened to you. You may still be entitled to collect significant compensation regardless of this reality that would have limited your options in many other states.

Note also that if you’re entitled to workers’ compensation benefits because you’re covered by your employer’s workers’ comp insurance, and your intersection crash was work-related, the fault isn’t a concern. Workers’ comp isn’t a fault-based system, so the insurance claims adjuster assigned to your case isn’t going to be preoccupied with whose fault the accident was unless you were purposely trying to get hurt to defraud the system. 

Schedule A Consultation With A Skilled California Car Accident Lawyer Today To Learn More

Don’t shoulder the burdens of an intersection accident alone. Schedule a no-cost, risk-free legal consultation with the capable legal team at The Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates, PC, today to clarify your rights and options and to learn about our approach to representation. We can be reached by calling 949-727-9300 or contacting us online. We look forward to assisting you.