Multiple Car Pile-up

Multiple car pile-ups occur when more than one vehicle is involved in a crash. Accidents that often involve multiple car crashes include chain reaction or rear-end accidents, intersection collisions, and failure to check blind spots when changing lanes. Multi-car accidents can be large, taking up many lanes of the highway and because they stop traffic in most or all lanes, it can be more challenging for emergency responders to reach the accident site to help victims. Often injuries are catastrophic or fatal, whether as the result of the force of the initial collision or because a fire or explosion happens due to gas leaks. Several different people may be making claims against one driver’s policy and quickly exhaust policy limits. It is crucial to hire an experienced Syracuse personal injury lawyer after a multiple car-pile up. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys, we understand how to approach these complex cases to give our clients the best chances of obtaining all the damages to which they’re entitled and seek the best results for all our clients.

As Syracuse personal injury attorneys, we often see multiple car pile-ups that occur when one car rear-ends another, which is then propelled by the force of the initial collision into the rear end of another vehicle, in a classic chain reaction accident involving three or more vehicles. However, there are situations in which more than one driver’s negligence causes the multiple car accident.

Suppose for example, Driver A rear-ends Driver B, and the cars stop moving, but Driver C is texting and doesn’t hit the brakes in time and hits Driver A, who against hits Driver B. In a situation like that, it may be difficult to know what injuries are attributable to the initial collision caused by Driver A, and which are the result of the secondary collision, caused by Driver C.

The reasons for the multiple car pile-up and insurance claims consequences are made even more intricate when a driver in front is responsible for an accident due to failure to maintain brake lights or another negligent act or when a hit and run is involved.

We will need to identify the car that has the most damage and which drivers are at fault in a multi-car pile-up. Police will investigate and their investigation can influence the outcome of your lawsuit, but it may not be the last word. Our lawyers may also send an investigator or accident reconstruction expert out to look at contributing causes to the accident. It is likely other insurers and other counsel for all the parties making claims that arise out of the pile-up will also do so.

In order to establish liability, our Syracuse personal injury lawyers will need to prove it’s more likely than not: (1) you were owed a duty to use reasonable care, (2) the defendant failed to abide by this duty, (3) causation, and (4) damages. Breach of the duty to use reasonable care may occur in connection with speeding, weaving, failing to check blind spots, failing to yield at an intersection, winter weather, texting while driving, distracted driving, drunk driving, fatigued driving, or failure to follow traffic signs and signals.

It can be challenging to pinpoint which acts of negligence caused a particular set of injuries. If you are further down the chain of impact, insurers may try to reject your claim on the grounds that there is an insufficient connection between the driver’s negligence and your injuries. It is wise to bring in all possible defendants to make sure each responsible party pays his or her fair share.

Additionally, the drivers are likely to point fingers at one another. Under the doctrine of comparative negligence, a claimant’s damages can be reduced by an amount proportionate to his or her degree of fault for the accident. Accordingly, insurers are incentivized to look for ways in which accident victims have caused their own injuries. You should not talk to an insurance adjustor until you’ve consulted counsel of your own.

When you seek the best outcome for your multiple car pile-up lawsuit, you should retain a law firm with many years of experience. The veteran Syracuse car accident lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys represent people injured in Lowville, Rochester, Auburn, Watertown, Herkimer, Oswego, Wampsville, Canandaigua, Lyons, Ithaca, Cooperstown, Oneida, Utica, Binghamton, Buffalo, Auburn, Elmira and all of Upstate New York. For a free consultation, complete our online form or call us at 833-200-2000.