Car accidents are complex, but multiple vehicle accidents can be catastrophic. With thousands of cars on the road, various ways that a car accident can happen, and sometimes, multiple parties involved, it can be challenging to determine who is at fault. So, who can you sue if you're in a multi-car accident?
In this FAQ, we’ll discuss the benefits of having a car accident lawyer represent your case, how an attorney can maximize your chances of recovering damages, including reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, and why accepting a settlement without a lawyer by your side can reduce your case's settlement amount. If you have questions about why you should hire a car accident lawyer in St. Louis to represent your case or other concerns about your case, call 314-542-2222 or 618-272-2222.
Types of Multi-Vehicle Accidents
Multiple car accidents can occur in a number of ways, such as due to bad weather or distracted driving. Typically, there are three types of accidents that multiple car accidents are more likely to happen in, which include:
- Rear-End Collision - if a vehicle hits the vehicle in front of it, and that vehicle hits another vehicle, this can turn into a chain reaction accident
- Intersection Accident - if someone doesn't yield to the right of way, runs a stop light, or otherwise doesn't follow the rules of the road at an intersection, this can result in a multi-car accident
- Highway Accident - high speeds and dozens of vehicles can cause multi-car pileups with 10+ vehicles
What to Do After a Multiple Car Accident
If you're involved in a multi-car accident, it's important to be proactive and make sure that you and others involved are safe. Then, you should call the police, seek immediate medical attention, and hire an attorney. It can be difficult to decide fault in an accident involving multiple cars, but an attorney can investigate the accident, help you gather evidence, and defend your claim against the negligent party.
Fault in Multi-Car Accidents
Multi-car accidents are complex. Sometimes there is one driver solely at fault and other times, there are multiple at-fault parties. If multiple parties are at fault in an accident, any of the liable parties can have a lawsuit pursued against them. For example, if one car was swerving and another didn't react in time to avoid the vehicle, and spun out, there are two defendants in the accident. Or, in a chain reaction crash, if there is a line of cars and one person is on their cell phone in the back, and doesn't see the cars in front of them, and crashes into the vehicle in front of them, there is only one person at fault - the person that struck the first vehicle.
Other times, there are third parties that can be liable in multi-car accidents, such as crashes involving semi-trucks. Both a truck driver and their employer could be liable if the crash was caused by the driver's negligence, an unmaintained truck, or improperly loaded cargo. But really, whether you can sue someone in a multi-car accident comes down to who was negligent in the crash and who broke the rules of road.
If you are looking for a car accident lawyer in St. Louis, Burger Law provides the highest quality legal representation to multi-car accident victims in Missouri and Illinois. If you need help gathering evidence, protection from the other party involved, or help writing a demand letter, our multiple car accident lawyers in St. Louis can help. Call or contact our attorneys at 314-542-2222 or 618-272-2222 for a free case review.