Hit in the rear but at fault

What is the name of your state? NC

My husband was on the interstate and cars in front of him started hitting their brakes. He hit his brakes and checked the mirrors to move into the next lane to avoid hitting the cars in front of him. He ended up getting hit in the rear. The police faulted him for an unsafe lane change. There was a person in front of a couple cars that stopped in the middle of the interstate for a blown out tire. The police told my husband that this person ultimately caused the entire accident. My husband's car sustained about $1400 in damages. Can he file a claim against the person that hit him even though he was issued a citation? Also instead of filing a claim against the person that hit him could a claim be filed against the person that caused the entire accident. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If you cut someone off (move into their lane unsafely), regardless of the reason, and they then hit you in the rear, that is your fault for moving into their "safety cushion" area of that car. It's one of the rare exceptions to the rear-ending car being at fault.

You can file a claim against whoever you want, but I don't think you'll win.

The person who originally stopped in front due to the blown tire is also probably not at fault. As the following car, it is up to you to always leave enough room to successfully stop in case the person in front makes a sudden panic stop. If you cant avoid someone making a panic stop, you were too close.

As ecmst12 said, I also doubt the person who hit your car was at fault, unless you can prove that they had plenty of room, and just inexplicably rear-ended you for no apparent reason, and it was just a coincidence that you changed lanes to avoid a front collision.

I think you are completely out of luck.