We can no longer imagine our life without cars and, for sure, each of us has become a participant in at least a minor accident or witnessed one. Therefore, we understand that in every accident it is necessary to correctly identify the culprit, and this is done by the court, not the traffic police inspector.
Our civil lawyer will help you establish guilt in an accident or appeal against guilt in court: with us, legal assistance in case of an accident - professionally, on favorable terms and on time. Call and schedule a consultation today!!!
Establishing the culprit of an accident in court
If a minor accident occurs and there are no injuries, then the drivers, as a rule, resolve the issue on the spot: one of them admits guilt and pays compensation to the other, for which a receipt is drawn up. For example, when one driver does not keep his distance and collides with a car in front: the damage may be minor, the drivers inspect their cars and, not wanting to waste time, the driver driving behind admits his guilt and is ready to pay monetary compensation at the scene of the accident, which will suit both. In this case, such a driver must necessarily take a receipt from the first one stating that as a result of the accident (indicate the details of the cars and drivers), the damage caused was compensated on the spot in such and such an amount and the participants in the accident have no claims against each other.
Another case is if a serious accident occurs, there are victims or the participants do not admit their guilt.
IMPORTANT : often the victims can suffer greatly, and the driver turns out to be guilty, then the culprit of the accident will be prosecuted under Art. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, see the VIDEO on this topic for more details
Almost every car has a video recorder, of course, it will help in establishing the circumstances of the accident and its culprit, but you shouldn’t count on it alone (the accident may not be included in the viewing angle of the video recorder or may be partially included, in the car of another participant in the accident the device may not be present, the recorder may fail or disconnect at the most inopportune moment). Therefore, after an accident occurs:
- it is necessary to contact pedestrians, stop passing cars and if there are people who can explain something about the accident, write down their name and telephone number
- when drawing up a report by the traffic police officer, indicate them as witnesses.
- Finding witnesses later through the media and other resources will be problematic, since time will pass when you need it, and people will have forgotten everything and will not be able to respond.
- You should also pay attention to video cameras located on nearby buildings.
- You also need to photograph the accident scene and the cars from all angles.
If any document drawn up by a traffic police officer indicates that a specific person is the culprit of an accident, this must be appealed, since only a court can establish guilt in an accident, and a traffic police officer can hold a person accountable for violating traffic rules (in particular, read how challenge the fine for driving into oncoming traffic using the link). In turn, violation of traffic rules is not always the cause of an accident.
Establishing fault in an accident through court. What decision can the court make?
- The court satisfies the plaintiff's demands, finds the second party guilty and recovers the damage caused.
- The court partially satisfies the plaintiff's demands, finds both participants guilty and, in accordance with the degree of guilt, recovers damages.
- The court rejects the claim because the second participant is not guilty.
Who can benefit from legal assistance in case of an accident?
- a person injured in a traffic accident;
- the culprit of a traffic accident in which people were injured or killed;
- a participant in a traffic accident who is accused of causing the accident.
If an accident occurs and you want to protect yourself and make sure that it will be properly processed, consult with a specialist who will tell you a detailed plan of action in the current situation.
How to prove mutual fault in an accident?
If both drivers violated traffic rules and this led to an accident, we can talk about mutual guilt. It should be taken into account that there must be a cause-and-effect relationship between the violation and the accident.
For example, if the first car is running a red light and collides with a second one running a green light, but the driver of the second one, for example, is not wearing a seat belt. Traffic violation protocols will be drawn up against both drivers, but there will be no mutual guilt, because the fact that the second driver was not wearing a seat belt could not have caused the accident.
Testimony of participants in the accident, testimony of witnesses, and video recordings will help prove mutual guilt. At the same time, it is necessary to monitor what the inspector indicates in the protocol; if there are comments or you do not agree with something, indicate this when signing the protocol. Also draw the attention of the traffic police officer to facts that may confirm the guilt of the second participant.
The presence of mutual fault affects the amount of payments under compulsory motor liability insurance.
It is impossible to identify the culprit of the accident
In practice, there are situations in which it is impossible to identify the culprit of an accident, for example, when there are conflicting testimonies from participants or the absence of witnesses. Often the procedure for appealing guilt in an accident with the help of our car lawyer helps to prove your innocence.
If the culprit of the accident fled the scene of the accident, and it was not possible to find him, it is necessary to file an accident and apply for payment to your insurance company.
Moreover, if it is impossible to establish the guilt of a particular participant or the degree of guilt of the participants, the person who has insurance does not lose the right to receive it (the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation clearly indicated this in one of its decisions).
In what cases should you immediately contact a car accident lawyer?
A traffic accident is hardly a pleasant event, but often the accident itself is not the only thing worth worrying about. An inexperienced car owner risks becoming a victim of fraudsters or unscrupulous insurers. Contact a lawyer immediately after an accident if:
- people were injured;
- the insurer underestimates the monetary compensation;
- the insurance company refuses to pay out under CASCO and OSAGO policies;
- you decide to conduct an independent examination of the car;
- after an accident, you received poor-quality or untimely repairs;
- The insurer's license was revoked.
Statement of claim to establish the degree of fault in an accident
Filing a claim with the sole requirement to establish the degree of guilt is not provided for by law, and therefore the claim is filed for compensation for damage caused by the accident. It is within the framework of consideration of claims for damages that the degree of guilt of each participant in the accident is established.
In order for the court to accept the claim for its proceedings, it is necessary to comply with the requirements for its form and content established by the current procedural legislation, namely, indicate:
- name and address of the court
- data of road accident participants
- information from the insurance company of the second participant in the accident
- claim price
- state duty
- detailed circumstances of the accident with supporting documents attached
- available photos and videos
- data of road accident witnesses and a petition to summon them to court
- if necessary, a request for an examination
- if necessary, a request to request a photo/video
- detailed calculation of the amount of damage that is subject to compensation
- claim for damages
USEFUL : watch the VIDEO with advice from a lawyer on filing a claim in court, and also ask a question in the comments of the video to get an answer
If you seek help from a lawyer, all expenses are subject to reimbursement, and evidence of such expenses is presented to the court.
The defendants must indicate the second participant in the accident and his insurance company; the claim is filed at the place of residence/location of one of the defendants.
If the second participant in the accident has already filed a claim in court, and you believe that the accident was not your fault or that both participants were to blame for the accident, you should file a counterclaim.
When establishing mutual guilt, the court in its decision will necessarily indicate the specific amount of guilt of each participant - compensation for damage in an accident through the court will be in proportion to the established share of guilt.
What can our lawyer do if it is necessary to establish guilt in an accident?
- Give advice during the consultation, including on the issue of how to prove that there was no accident, as well as any other
- Go to the scene of the accident , record the data of witnesses, pay attention to the circumstances relevant to the case, check the correctness of the protocol
- Analyze the situation and determine the tactics that are beneficial to you
- Draw up an objection to the protocol, appeal the decisions of the traffic police officers
- Contact the insurance company with a statement about the insured event, file a claim with the insurance company
- Participate in conducting automotive technical examinations
- Provide assistance in collecting evidence of your innocence and the guilt of another participant
- Contact appraisal organizations to calculate the amount of damage
- Draw up and submit a statement of claim to the court for compensation for damage from an accident , participate in court hearings, file a counterclaim for compensation for damage
- If necessary, appeal the court decision
- Conducting enforcement proceedings
IMPORTANT : engaging a lawyer is possible at any stage, however, the sooner a lawyer gets involved in the work, the greater the chance of collecting the necessary evidence and meeting the deadlines provided by law (for example, for appealing decisions, decisions).
An expert determines the cause of the accident and its culprit
April 9, 2021 4:04 pm
Listeners of the FPA RF webinar were told about the tasks and some problems of modern automotive technical expertise
On April 9, during the third webinar of the FPA RF within the framework of the course “Special knowledge in the activities of a lawyer”, the leading state forensic expert of the department of automotive technical expertise of the Federal Budgetary Institution of the North-Western Regional Center for Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Justice of Russia gave a lecture on the topic “Automotive technical examination in cases investigating the circumstances of an accident.” Timofey Bocharov.
As part of his speech, he considered the following issues: current problems of the quality of forensic automotive technical examinations (FATE); current state of SATE production using computer programs; methodological approaches to the use of computer modeling of a road traffic accident (RTA) in automotive technical expertise; tasks of forensic examination to study video recordings of road accident events and ways to harmonize and differentiate the special knowledge of SATE and forensic examination of video and sound recordings.
In the first part of his lecture, Timofey Bocharov described how the plot of the incident, information about its participants, and eyewitness testimony are described. First of all, automotive technical expertise examines the driver’s technical ability to prevent an accident. The lecturer elaborated on the rules and methodology of such research. He noted that if the expert is not provided with specific figures and cannot conduct a control experiment, in this case he relies on standard parameters related to a given vehicle brand.
Timofey Bocharov gave specific examples where, depending on a given “moment of danger,” an expert can draw opposite conclusions about the driver’s ability to prevent a collision with a pedestrian. This is explained both by contradictions in the Traffic Rules and by the lack of an approved unified methodology for expert research.
When considering criminal cases, it is extremely important to establish the speed of the vehicle, which is not always possible to determine using traditional methods. Today, the examination of video images is becoming an ordinary event, and sometimes the necessary information is contained in airbag control units.
Timofey Bocharov pointed out that when determining the causes of an accident, an expert, as a rule, restores the mechanism of the accident using transport traceology. For this purpose, special computer programs are used that are used in the production of automotive technical examinations. The speaker paid special attention to the analysis of these programs. He also substantiated the need to work with the most common and functional computer programs today for analyzing and modeling the mechanism of road accidents, based on methods adopted in expert practice and provisions, as well as the experience of practicing experts.
The best result, according to the lecturer, is shown by the PC-Crash program. The algorithm of its work includes the following stages: obtaining initial information; control by the expert of the received information and assessment of the sufficiency of the initial information; reconstruction of the accident mechanism; description of the mechanism of an accident in expert terms and concepts.
To carry out an expert study, it is necessary to draw up a large-scale drawing of the accident, study the available information, including traces of the accident, after which, using computer modeling, the expert can draw a conclusion about how the collision of vehicles occurred, what damage they received, which driver is at fault Road accident.
In the second part of the lecture, Timofey Bocharov reported on the study of the circumstances of the accident using video recordings. He touched upon standard and private expert research methods and tools, the procedure for their application and evaluation of the results obtained in terms of expert tasks. When characterizing an accident, an expert auto technician evaluates the information available in the video file taking into account the requirements of the Traffic Rules. The expert report must certainly indicate the characteristics of the file with which the expert worked.
Timofey Bocharov described in detail the correct wording of the questions posed to the expert, the necessary documents, and initial data.
At the end of his speech, he answered questions from the audience.
Please note that the recording of the webinar will be available today until 24.00 (Moscow time). The broadcast will be repeated on Saturday, April 10.
Konstantin Katanyan
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