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At some point in your driving life, you will almost certainly be involved in an accident. If you're lucky, this may be nothing more serious than a fender bender, but every year thousands of drivers are involved in accidents that lead to significant injury. In the two types of accidents described below, the crash is the fault of the other driver 99% of the time.
Rear-End Collisions
If you've been rammed from the back at a stop-light or during a sudden deceleration because of traffic, the incident is virtually always the other driver's fault. One of the most basic rules of the road is that a driver must be able to stop safely if traffic is stopped ahead. If a driver cannot stop safely than he or she is not driving as safely as the driver ahead (in this case, you).
Rear end collisions are frequently open-and-shut cases in court because the damage proves how the accident occurred. One car has damage to the front end, and your car has damage to the back. You should keep in mind, however, that even in a rear-end collision your own actions may reduce your compensation. This factor is called "comparative negligence" and happens in particular situations, for example, if a brake or tail-light is out or you're car has failed and you've failed to move it out of the road.
Left-Turn Accidents
If you spend enough time on the road, you'll almost certainly see one of these crashes—or the aftermath. A driver pulls into the left turn lane, anxious to get home or to an appointment, and decides to risk a quick left turn in front of oncoming traffic, or miscaluclates the oncoming speed, or simply blows through a solid red arrow. Left turn accidents are prevalent, dangerous, and usually the fault of just one driver: the driver making the left. There are exceptions to this almost automatic rule, but they are difficult to prove and quite rare. A left turn accident may be the fault of the driver headed straight if he or she is exceeding the speed limit (and not just by a few miles per hour), went through a red light, or the left-turning car started its turn safely but something unexpected made the driver suddenly stop. The basic rules of a left turn, though, make it almost always the turners fault: you're not supposed to turn left until there is adequate space in front of oncoming traffic or a traffic signal has directed you to.
Just like the rear-end collision, the damage to vehicles involved make the nature of the accident pretty easy to prove. In essence, as long as you were driving the speed limit and obeying traffic signals, any damage to your vehicle or injury to your person is the liability of the driver turning left.
If you've been involved in an accident with a driver who has rear-ended you, or you've hit a car making a dangerous left turn, you may be eligible for compensation depending on the damage to your vehicle and the injuries you've suffered. Be sure to contact an attorney and find out how much you may be owed for these kinds of accidents.