Being in a car accident can upend your life. Besides the damage to your vehicle, you may have permanent injuries. You might miss work, need to change careers or stop working altogether if the injury affects your abilities. You may not be able to do the things you are accustomed to doing.
For these reasons, you may incur extra costs as you attempt to deal with all the consequences of the accident. If someone else was at fault for the crash, you could sue for monetary damages to help ease your financial burden. However, proving that your car accident was someone else’s fault can be difficult. Fortunately, experts have advice for Illinois families on how to accomplish that.
Check the police report
If an officer came to the site of your crash, he or she will make a police report. The report is a written record of the officer’s observations of all the details of the accident. The officer might record details that include his or her opinion of who was at fault for the crash. Try to get the officer’s name and ask how to obtain a copy of the report.
If the police did not respond to your accident, you may have to report the incident at the closest police station. Officers may decide to investigate your crash and then file a police report. If the report contains a factual error, such as an incorrect license number or misspelling of your name, you can request an amendment to the report. The procedure for changing a police report will depend on the local jurisdiction of the accident.
Consider what kind of accident occurred
There are a few different kinds of car accidents that generally are the sole fault of one driver. You may have heard this regarding rear-end crashes. Typically, the driver who hits another car from behind is at fault for the collision. That driver could also make a claim against a third party who contributed to the crash. For example, if one car stopped without reason and caused two other cars to have a rear-end collision, the driver in the initial car that stopped abruptly may assume liability for the accident.
Accidents that involve a left-hand turn can fall into this category as well. These kinds of accidents happen when one vehicle is going straight through an intersection, with the right of way, and another vehicle attempting to turn left fails to yield. Usually, the driver who was executing the turn is at fault. However, if the car that was not turning left was breaking a traffic law, such as speeding or running a light or stop sign, that car may be at fault.
Check state and local traffic laws
The most important measure is to check the Illinois traffic laws that relate to your crash. There may also be specific local ordinances that relate to who is at fault. If you are unsure or having difficulty proving that the other driver is at fault for the car accident, legal counsel may be the best path for you to follow.