When two vehicles collide, determining who was at fault involves looking at the behavior of the drivers involved in the accident. The drivers may share responsibility for the crash, or one motorist may be considered liable. An experienced rear-end accident lawyer in Fairfield County knows when one car hits the back bumper of another vehicle, the rear driver is usually presumed to be responsible for causing the crash because the rear driver has a legal duty to maintain a safe following distance. 
When there are more than two cars involved in an rear-end accident, determining which motorist(s) were to blame is more complicated than just considering each individual driver's role. All of the events leading up to the accident must be evaluated. For example, a car could strike another vehicle, pushing that vehicle into the rear of the front car. In this case, it would be necessary to determine the liability of the rear and middle vehicles. A car could also end up hitting the rear bumper of a vehicle in front if that vehicle had slammed on the brakes after hitting the lead car. In this situation, the responsibility of the front, middle and rear-vehicles must be determined.
Determining Fault in Chain Reaction Cases
When a chain reaction crash occurs, an expert often needs to be consulted in order to make a detailed assessment of who was to blame for the collision. USA Today reports that expert investigators are routinely called in when multi-car pileups happen because of bad weather. Between Thanksgiving and March of last year, there were 54 of these types of pileups that involved 10 or more vehicles. Some of the largest multi-car pileups resulting from bad weather involved more than 100 cars.
When these types of bad-weather accidents happen, there may be a single catalyst like two cars colliding or even a single vehicle spinning out of control. The combination of the reduced visibility due to the bad weather and potentially treacherous road conditions mean that other drivers can't stop or get out of the way in time to avoid hitting the impaired cars. Determining what the catalyst was and who was to blame can be extremely complex, but is necessary to assess responsibility for damages.
There are accident reconstruction specialists who are trained and certified in uncovering the causes of these multi-car pileups. USA Today reports that these experts, some of whom are in law enforcement, travel around the country to respond when a multi-car pileup happens and must be investigated.
While chain reaction rear-end crashes may not be as complicated as these massive pileups, experts can still be called to determine what went wrong. If you want to recover compensation after a rear-end crash and you need assistance proving that another driver was the one who caused the collision, an attorney can provide you with help in investigating your accident and protecting your rights.
A Fairfield County personal injury lawyer at Vishno Law Firm can help after a collision. Call 888-222-1688 today.