If I was in an auto accident for which the other party was cited for running a stop sign and not having the right of way, can I be held partially responsible?
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If I was in an auto accident for which the other party was cited for running a stop sign and not having the right of way, can I be held partially responsible?
The other party’s insurance lead says they’ll accept 90% liability if I take 10%. They claim my 10% is due to improper look out as they say the accident could have been avoided if I were to have properly scoped the area while driving since I hit them. How can I be held liable 10% if i was going my right of way and the highway patrol units held them 100% responsible on the police report? The other party are now claiming injury after telling the highway patrol and fire department they were fine on the scene. I don’t want to be held 10% liable for any hospital bills there may be. By the way, we both have the same insurer.
Asked on October 19, 2014 under Accident Law, Florida
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
The insurer is trying to apportion liability and maybe even trying to deal with some internal reporting issues. There is a theory called avoidance to apportion liability but sometimes that is not really possible given the speed of the other vehicle, etc. So I would stick to your guns here and if the company pushes you I might file a complaint with the state insurance department. Good luck.
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