Who is at fault for the accident?
Insurance companies follow a simple formula to find out who is at fault. The formula is Duty + Breach +Causation + Damages = negligence or fault.
Insurance carrier follow court decision that tells them the elements necessary to put negligence on someone. The first element is duty.
Everyone behind the wheel of the vehicle has a duty to act reasonable, to follow the rules of the road, to lookout, and to avoid an accident. If the insurance company finds that you breached any of these duties, then you could still be found liable for damages.
Breaching a duty does not automatically makes you negligent. There must be a casual relationship between the duty breached and the final damage. This casual relationship is called causation. Causation is a very important element that is often used as a defense.
A good example of causation (or the lack of thereof) is wearing a seatbelt. You can be cited for not wearing your seat belt. You would be breaching your duty to wear the seat belt. But the fact the you did not wear the seatbelt has nothing to do with the fact that the other person did not stop at the red light and hit you. Your Duty breach is not casually related to the final damage. Therefore, you would not be liable for the damages.
Damages are the last element of negligence. Someone must be hurt or something must be broken for it to add up to negligence. Think of this element as “no harm no foul”.Read More.
