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frogstyle916 · Nov 5, 2016, 03:56 PM

My car hit something on the freeway which cause the vehicle to stop and unable to move off to the shoulder immeditatey the flashers was turned on and still I was hit from behind the vehicle was totaled "WHO IS AT FAULT"?

Fr_Chuck · Nov 5, 2016, 04:24 PM

The car that hit you from the rear is mostly at fault.
Since you were parked on the highway, a court may find you partially at fault.

But normally most of the fault would be the person who hits another from behind

teacherjenn4 · Nov 5, 2016, 05:08 PM

I always believed that the person who rear ends you is at fault.

Alty · Nov 5, 2016, 05:58 PM

I say 50/50. The person that hit you is 50% at fault because they should have been able to stop and avoid a collision if they saw your vehicle stopped. You are 50% at fault for stopping on the freeway and not pulling over to the shoulder, therefore blocking traffic.

Now, the insurance company on both sides will investigate, so a lot will depend on both your actions, the other drivers actions, and the timing. For instance, how soon after you stopped in the middle of the freeway, were you hit? Instantly? A few minutes later? Why were you unable to move to the shoulder? Was your vehicle still running and capable of moving to the safety of the shoulder?

While most times the person at fault is the one that rear ends the other vehicle, in this case it's not clearly that drivers fault. You were stopped on a freeway.

For instance, I was stopped behind a vehicle in a line up of vehicles stopped at a red light. The car behind me was hit by an ambulance, pushing that car into my car, and my car into the car in front of me. Now according to what most people believe about rear enders, I would be responsible for the car in front of me, the car behind me would be responsible for me, and the ambulance would be responsible for the car it hit. But no. In that case the ambulance was responsible for all damages since all the other vehicles were stopped and only hit the cars in front of them because of the impact of the ambulance.

As a former insurance underwriter I can see this being a 50/50 case if you're lucky, a 100% your fault case if you push it. You did not safely remove yourself from the freeway, and had you done so, the accident wouldn't have happened.

smoothy · Nov 5, 2016, 06:39 PM

I agree with Alty... you are taught, at least used to be taught, if your car is experiencing problems IMMEDIATELY, move towards the shoulder. There may be times that's not possible, but most of the time it is. A wheel falling off, maybe...if you hit a piano that fell off a truck probably, a flat tire however is no excuse. If the motor stops you are on the freeway, you have momentum that will allow you to get at least most of the way over... Assuming you aren't blocked by traffic from doing do.

THe insurance companies will investigate. Police don't always investigate if there are no injuries or private property damage. In any case its not always as simple as most may think.

frogstyle916 · Nov 5, 2016, 11:37 PM

my car was not able to move I had run into a tire rim that someone had lost and it instantly disabled the vehicle my girlfriend the passenger was on the phone with 911 still ringing to notify them of the situation when I was hit from behind.

Originally Posted by Alty

I say 50/50. The person that hit you is 50% at fault because they should have been able to stop and avoid a collision if they saw your vehicle stopped. You are 50% at fault for stopping on the freeway and not pulling over to the shoulder, therefore blocking traffic.

Now, the insurance company on both sides will investigate, so a lot will depend on both your actions, the other drivers actions, and the timing. For instance, how soon after you stopped in the middle of the freeway, were you hit? Instantly? A few minutes later? Why were you unable to move to the shoulder? Was your vehicle still running and capable of moving to the safety of the shoulder?

While most times the person at fault is the one that rear ends the other vehicle, in this case it's not clearly that drivers fault. You were stopped on a freeway.

For instance, I was stopped behind a vehicle in a line up of vehicles stopped at a red light. The car behind me was hit by an ambulance, pushing that car into my car, and my car into the car in front of me. Now according to what most people believe about rear enders, I would be responsible for the car in front of me, the car behind me would be responsible for me, and the ambulance would be responsible for the car it hit. But no. In that case the ambulance was responsible for all damages since all the other vehicles were stopped and only hit the cars in front of them because of the impact of the ambulance.

As a former insurance underwriter I can see this being a 50/50 case if you're lucky, a 100% your fault case if you push it. You did not safely remove yourself from the freeway, and had you done so, the accident wouldn't have happened.

ma0641 · Nov 6, 2016, 09:41 AM

Report it to your insurance company and let them work it out.

Alty · Nov 7, 2016, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by frogstyle916

my car was not able to move I had run into a tire rim that someone had lost and it instantly disabled the vehicle my girlfriend the passenger was on the phone with 911 still ringing to notify them of the situation when I was hit from behind.

Sadly there are always two sides to the story, and I'd bet that the person that hit you has a very different story than yours.

I'm not at all disputing that you weren't able to move, but it may still be your fault as you were blocking traffic.

It will likely come down to an investigation. How soon after you hit the tire were you hit from behind? You say you were already on the phone, that your hazard lights were on. If that's found to be what happened then the other driver may be held responsible. I still see this as a 50/50 case, and that's how I'd rule if I were the insurance adjuster handling this, based on what you've told me. Why? You were blocking traffic, which caused the accident, but you didn't do so willingly. The other driver should have been paying closer attention and seen you stopped unable to move. So really both of you played a part in this happening, and unless you can win for sure, I'd take the 50/50, let your insurance pay for your damages, and the other drivers insurance pay for his.

Also, the street itself will play a large part in how the investigation goes. Were you stopped in a blind spot for the drivers behind you (over a hill, around a corner), what time of day did this happen, was it rush hour? How was the flow of traffic? A lot of things will factor into who is at fault. This is definitely not a clear cut case by any means in my opinion.

Just happy no one was injured or killed.

AK lawyer · Nov 11, 2016, 05:31 PM

I find it hard to believe that OP's car was actually unable to move. If the car was high-centered on the object so that the powered wheels were unable to move the car, Or if the engine quit, maybe.

Also, since this happened on a freeway, the driver of the other car may argue that he or she was unable to stop in time. But in my experience way too many freeway drivers follow the cars in front of them way too closely. If that is the case here, the other driver may well be at fault.