Who’s At Fault? Determining liability

When you have been involved in a serious car accident at an intersection, the question of who caused the accident can be confusing and will influence whether you can win a lawsuit seeking compensation for your injuries.

When both drivers claim the other is at fault, liability for these accidents can only be established based on a careful examination of all available evidence. In the end, both sides will hope to show that their story is the more reasonable and therefore more likely version of events. Unless you can present a strong liability argument, your intersection case probably will not settle without a trial. 

No Fault Insurance Ontario. Why determining fault in an Ontario Car Accident Matters

Ontario has no fault insurance so is determining fault for liability so important?  Insurance companies assign fault for each driver in the accident.  In addition to impacting whether you pay a deductible or not, it plays a large role in your future insurance costs and whether you can sue for liability.

A Closer Look, An Accident at an Intersection

Let’s look at an example for an accident that occurs at 4-way traffic light intersection. Situations like turning left on an advanced green light or clearing the intersection as the lights change require drivers to make split-second judgment calls that often lead to collisions. 

In Ontario, most intersections controlled by traffic signals will also be equipped with data-recording technology that captures basic information about the status of the traffic lights over time in a Signal Timing Report. This report documents the timing and duration of the signals for given periods but cannot confirm the status of the lights preceding the moment of impact. 

Unfortunately, it does not correlate with real-world time – the timing of the signals at the intersection cannot be accurately pinpointed. It merely describes the sequencing in effect when the crash occurred (for example, between 2 pm and 5 pm on weekdays, all directions receive an advanced green light lasting 20 seconds). To prove liability, all the other available evidence must be considered with reference to the Signal Timing Report. 

Unless the evidence overwhelmingly supports one driver’s story, your lawyer will hire an engineer to provide an opinion. The engineer will assess all available evidence, including the collision data from both cars’ “black boxes,” GPS information from “infotainment” units, the police filed notes including eyewitness accounts, and the statements provided by you and the other driver (to the police, EMS personnel, insurance adjusters, and your sworn evidence to the other lawyer). 

The collision data covers the final seconds before the crash. It describes all the forces affecting the vehicles including changes in each driver’s speed, whether they were braking and how much brake force was applied, what steering manoeuvres were attempted, and if traction was lost. The GPS data can accurately position the vehicles at the material times (as opposed to the police notes, which will only position the vehicles at rest, with a rough sketch of their pre-impact orientation). This technical data is used to frame the witness and driver descriptions of the events. The reasonableness of these possible versions is then considered given the timing and duration of the lights described in the Timing Report. 

Key factors in assessing liability.

Your liability case will be strongest when:

• the eyewitnesses provide clear statements that confirm your story.
• the technical data matches your evidence about your speed, braking and other evasive actions.
• the events as described could have happened given the timing and duration of the traffic signals in effect at the material time. 

Factors that can detract from your case include:

• vague, partial, or conflicting eyewitness statements.
• eyewitness statements that contradict your story.
• unsupportive technical data, or technical data that could be used to support either version of events.
• improbable or impossible events, given the Traffic Timing data.

As you’ve just learned, determining who caused an accident is an arduous and technical task. It involves examining a lot of data and enlisting the support of technical expertise. It can also have other negative side effects. If the other driver denies liability for your car accident, you will suffer from increased stress and uncertainty that can interfere with your recovery. 

Fortunately, with a good personal injury law firm on your side, you are not alone. At Campisi LLP, we are pleased to offer a free, no-obligation consultation to assess your case so you can have peace of mind. Our exceptional lawyers can provide guidance based on similar cases so you have a realistic understanding of the strength of your claim and can make informed decisions going forward. 

Campisi LLP – Champions with Heart!