What can you do if you try to hold another party liable for your car accident, but that driver denies responsibility? You’re not out of luck yet. While you can sometimes come to a case resolution in private negotiations, you often have to take belligerent or uncooperative drivers before a judge.
While the trial process can be long, it can help you win the compensation you need to recover from a car accident with little backtalk from a liable party. What’s more, you can call on an Indiana car accident lawyer with Vaughan & Vaughan to represent you throughout the process.
Our team specializes in keeping car accident settlement negotiations and trials as civil as possible. You can rely on us to manage your communications with an aggressive liable party while defending your right to maximize your accident-related compensation.
When Might Another Driver Deny Liability?
The party you accuse of causing your car accident can initially deny liability for your losses in conversations with their insurance provider. These efforts may encourage the insurance provider to look more deeply into your case in an effort to reduce the amount of compensation it may eventually offer you, if it offers you any at all.
If an insurance provider refuses to offer you compensation, you have the right to file a personal injury claim against the party you believe to be responsible for your accident. At this point, however, the defendant may deny liability again. This party can specifically respond to Indiana’s civil summons with a refutation of fault.
That refutation does not deny you the right to bring your case forward. It may, however, render it impossible to come to a settlement agreement outside of court. You can request that an experienced Indiana car crash lawyer mediate your conversations with the defendant to keep lines of communication clear and tempers in check.
Can a Denial of Liability Cost You Money?
Unfortunately, yes, a denial of liability can cost you money. Even if the liable party doesn’t deny liability to the point where a court throws out your case, The Indiana Comparative Fault Act can see you lose out on the compensation you might otherwise receive if you don’t argue against that denial.
This act specifically states that multiple parties, including a victim, may bear the blame for a car accident. So long as you, the filer, bear less than 51 percent of the fault for an accident, though, you can continue to pursue compensation for your losses. That said, the court can reduce the amount of car crash compensation you receive by the percentage of fault you bear.
If the liable party can argue that you contributed 10, 20, 30, or 40 percent of the fault in your accident, Indiana civil courts can reduce your compensation by that percentage. That’s why it’s important to have an Indiana car accident attorney on your side to help refute a defendant’s denials of liability. Our team can protect your right to comprehensive financial support.
How to Challenge a Denial of Liability
You can challenge a defendant’s attempts to deny accusations of liability by bringing forward a broad range of evidence depicting that party’s accident-causing negligence. The evidence most relevant to your case varies depending on the nature of your accident but can most often include the following:
You don’t have to gather this evidence on your own time. Our team of Indiana car accident lawyers can head out into the field while you recover from your crash-related injuries. We can then analyze that evidence and compile our findings in an appropriately-formatted claim.
These efforts work best when challenging a denial of liability issued before you summon a party to civil court. If the party in question denies liability after you’ve submitted your claim, you may have to forgo settlement negotiations in favor of discovery and a more traditional civil trial.
Can You Return to Negotiations During a Car Accident Trial?
You do have the option to come to an agreement over compensation with a liable party during a car accident trial. That said, once the court puts your right to compensation in a jury’s hands and breaks for deliberation, that opportunity disappears. As such, you can reach out to the defendant before deliberation to discuss their interest in settling.
Unfortunately, some parties refuse to take this option. Others, upon realizing that the evidence you have regarding their liability may outstrip their argument against fault, may reach out and express their interest. You can rely on your car accident lawyer to manage these communications and arrange any appropriate out-of-court meetings.
You Can Talk to Indiana Car Accident Lawyers About Accident Liability
You don’t have to let a liable party’s attempt to reframe your car accident case deny you your right to post-accident compensation. Vaughan & Vaughan’s personal injury lawyers in Indiana can fight back against these accusations on your behalf. We can systematically bring forward evidence refuting the liable party’s claims and reestablishing your right to compensation.
If you want to discuss your right to challenge another party’s accusations of car accident fault, or if you have questions about what compensation you deserve after a car accident, you can contact our team. Vaughan & Vaughan has car accident lawyers throughout Indiana who are ready to take on your case. Reach us by phone or through our website today.
