4 car accident

What is the name of your state? CA

I was involved in a 4 vehicle accident in the fast lane of a 4 lane highway about 2 months ago. My vehicle was last in the pile up. The driver of the vehicle in front of me slammed on her breaks and hit the vehicle in front of her and I just couldn't stop in time and ultimately impacted her. The driver in the very first vehicle stated that she felt multiple impacts, which obviously implies that the other vehicles had hit her before I hit the third vehicle. I am positive that the vehicle in front of me collided into the vehicle in front of her before I impacted her. She had very bad damages to the front of her car, whereas the damages to her rear were very minor (small dent in the bumper). I believe that she hit the vehicle in front of her at a much greater speed than at which I hit her.

However, the problem is that I (very inaccurately and regretfully) misreported to the CHP officer that I was driving with the flow of traffic, which I approximated at 65 mph. This is my first accident (I have no history of accidents/tickets) and I honestly did not know what speed I was driving at and should have just stated that but he asked me again so I just stated what I thought to be the flow of traffic. I initially drove at 65 mph but reduced speed as traffic slowed down and whatever speed I was driving at, I know that it was the same speed as the vehicle in front of me because I kept an even distance between her vehicle and mine for quite some time before the accident. I believe that the others drivers reported their speeds at something closer to 20-30 mph. In actuality, I probably hit her going at about 20 mph but in the police report it now looks like I just rammed into the vehicles and I just received a letter from my own insurance co. stating that I am 100% at fault for the accident because I was driving at "unsafe speed for road conditions." Is there ANY way I can save myself from this mess?

Given the physical evidence of the damages to the front of my vehicle and the rear of the vehicle I hit, it is clear that there is no way I hit her going at 65 mph. Plus the testimony of the first driver clearly tells that the other vehicles had already hit her before me so they can't claim that I pushed all the vehicles into each other from the back. So can they still claim that I am 100% at fault? I see a messy lawsuit ahead of me and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You WERE 100% at fault for your collision with the vehicle in front of you. Beyond that it gets a bit murkier...

Explain what you just said to your insurance adjuster. You are not at fault for all of the damage to all of the cars, they will have to work out the percentages for you. What are your property damage liability limits?

ryanlucah said:

What is the name of your state? CA

I was involved in a 4 vehicle accident in the fast lane of a 4 lane highway about 2 months ago.

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The left lane is the passing lane, not the fast lane! You drive in the right lane and when you go to pass another vehicle you switch to the left lane. After passing that vehicle or any other vehicles immediatly in front of them, you move back to the right lane. In many states that is the law, it's always the courteous thing to do.

Agree with all of the above.

JustAPal00 said:

The left lane is the passing lane, not the fast lane! You drive in the right lane and when you go to pass another vehicle you switch to the left lane. After passing that vehicle or any other vehicles immediatly in front of them, you move back to the right lane. In many states that is the law, it's always the courteous thing to do.

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That is not the "law" in California. Also, in our traffic, all the lanes of a freeway frequently travel the same speed. AND, even if one is in the left lane, t doesn't give one the "right" to exceed the posted speed limit.

JustAPal - your "advice" here is totally irrelevant for our OP.

EDIT: With the above said, I know it could be argued that laws against impeding traffic could come in to play...but that is not applied *only* to driving in the left lane.

Zigner said:

That is not the "law" in California. Also, in our traffic, all the lanes of a freeway frequently travel the same speed. AND, even if one is in the left lane, t doesn't give one the "right" to exceed the posted speed limit.

JustAPal - your "advice" here is totally irrelevant for our OP.

EDIT: With the above said, I know it could be argued that laws against impeding traffic could come in to play...but that is not applied *only* to driving in the left lane.

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I didn't say it was the law in CA. I said it's the courteous thing to do. All states post signs that say "slower traffic keep right". This is what they are referring to. There is a law in CA that requires slower drivers to move right so as to not obstruct traffic. One of my biggest "peeves" is people who drive but don't know the rules of the road. I don't need the law to tell me right from wrong!

JustAPal00 said:

I didn't say it was the law in CA. I said it's the courteous thing to do. All states post signs that say "slower traffic keep right". This is what they are referring to. There is a law in CA that requires slower drivers to move right so as to not obstruct traffic. One of my biggest "peeves" is people who drive but don't know the rules of the road. I don't need the law to tell me right from wrong!

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Pal - you are on a LEGAL forum. Tell me what law allows drivers to exceed the speed limit just because they're in the left lane.

In any case, please explain how your drivel pertains in the slightest to this thread?

Nobody said anything about exceeding the speed limit. Some people drive under the speed limit. They should stay in the right lane.

ecmst12 said:

Nobody said anything about exceeding the speed limit. Some people drive under the speed limit. They should stay in the right lane.

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Sheesh, get back to the topic.

Our OP was LEGALLY driving in the left hand lane of a 4 lane FREEWAY.

JustAPal00 said:

The left lane is the passing lane, not the fast lane! You drive in the right lane and when you go to pass another vehicle you switch to the left lane. After passing that vehicle or any other vehicles immediatly in front of them, you move back to the right lane. In many states that is the law, it's always the courteous thing to do.

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I just wanted to clarify that I never stated to the CHP officer that I was driving in the "fast lane." He himself told me that the lane I was in was the fast lane

Zigner said:

You WERE 100% at fault for your collision with the vehicle in front of you. Beyond that it gets a bit murkier...

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I am prepared to take full responsibility for my impact with the vehicle in front of me. However, she incurred injuries from the accident and I believe that it was mainly due to her impact with the vehicle in front of her. The damages to the front of her vehicle are pretty bad and I can realistically expect that I may end up being liable for a portion of the front end damages as well. Granted that I am 100% responsible for the damages to her rear, could they claim that I am 100% responsible for her medical bills as well?

ecmst12 said:

Explain what you just said to your insurance adjuster. You are not at fault for all of the damage to all of the cars, they will have to work out the percentages for you. What are your property damage liability limits?

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So it would be possible to reassess the accident to take into account all the information I stated in my first post even though a police report has already been filed and may state otherwise? (I'll have to look into my policy for the exact property damage liability limits)

My insurance agent hasn't been too prompt with returning my phone calls so I would like to thank everyone here for being so responsive and for helping me through this ordeal.

ryanlucah said:

So it would be possible to reassess the accident to take into account all the information I stated in my first post even though a police report has already been filed and may state otherwise? (I'll have to look into my policy for the exact property damage liability limits)

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Yes. The police report is only part of the information used to determine liability. Most of the time, there isn't even that!

Your insurance company will review all the evidence and make a percentage determination. I don't know exactly how it works for the injury though. It's probably best to leave that up to your insurance company to determine, as they are the experts. She will likely be found partially at fault for her own injuries, but California is a comparitive negligence state, meaning even if she is MOSTLY at fault, she can recover for the percentage she was NOT at fault. Meaning if they say she is 75% responsible for her own injuries, and you are 25% responsible, she can recover for 25% of her medical bills and pain/suffering from you.

How much liablity coverage do you have?

Your mess

The basic question for you to answer is whether you have personal exposure. Several times, you have been asked your insurance limits. They are important. If you have lots of insurance 100/300,000 for instance, the likelyhiood of personal exposure wil be minimal given the description of the accident and injuries we have heard so far. If you have no prsnal exposure you can relax. There will be no way to avoid an assessment of liability against you given the facts as you described and your carrier will not assess any more premium to your case by paying $5,000 vs $50,000. Your insurance company will also aggressively defend you even though they have assessed you to be 100% at fault, as they want to save their money. While you may want to argue and worry about the apportionment of injury between the front collision and your collision, you still will be liable, and so the real question will be to what extent you will be assessed damage. You should sit tight and wait for word from your carrier as to the nature of the damages. Let them know in writing that you want to be notified when the other parties have submitted medical bills and claims. Then when the information comes in, you can assess your personal exposure.

I finally spoke to my insurance agent and found out that I have a $50,000 property damage liability limit per accident. He also gave me details of the police report and told me that it indicated the vehicle in front of me as the primary cause of the accident. Thus so far I am only 100% at fault for her rear end damages and partially for her injuries. We'll have to see if the other parties will eventually make claims against me but so far so good..

Thank you everyone again. I'm very grateful I found this board.