Who Is at Fault in a Merging Car Accident?
Lane merges are common causes of car accidents. As personal injury lawyers, we’ve heard the stories countless times:
“A car sped up and hit me while merging.”
“I was trying to merge lanes, and a car cut me off.”
Merging accidents are common, but proving who’s at fault can be challenging, and legal help is often necessary. The Pennsylvania car accident lawyers at Cordisco & Saile LLC are here to help. We’ll explain your options and answer key questions, including who is at fault in a merging car accident.
- To pursue compensation over a merging car accident, you cannot be more at fault than the other party.
- Evidence such as witness testimony, traffic cameras, vehicle damage, and medical records can help establish liability in a merging car accident.
- In Pennsylvania, your car insurance coverage may limit the damages you can pursue.
- Merging accidents can happen at any time but are particularly common when the roads are busy. Following the rules of the road can help you stay safe, but avoiding a collision is not always possible.
How Fault Is Determined in a Merging Accident
Following an accident, the insurance companies will determine fault based on who acted unlawfully, negligently, carelessly, or recklessly and how those actions contributed to the accident. However, the compensation you can recover will depend on the extent of your insurance coverage.
Pennsylvania is a no-fault car insurance state. State law requires you to purchase mandatory personal injury protection coverage, or PIP. PIP, also known as medical benefits coverage, covers accident-related medical costs up to the policy limit, regardless of who caused the accident.
Whether you can seek additional damages from an at-fault driver depends on the type of tort coverage you have selected. In Pennsylvania, you must select from the following options:
- Limited Tort Coverage: You may seek compensation for monetary expenses related to your injury. You may not seek damages for pain and suffering unless your injuries are serious. The law defines serious injuries as those that cause death, severe disfigurement, or significant loss of function.
- Full Tort Coverage: You may seek compensation for monetary and non-monetary loss, regardless of the severity of your injuries.
For example, suppose a merging car accident leaves you with minor whiplash that your doctor expects to heal fully. Pursuing damages from the at-fault party may be difficult if you have limited tort coverage. However, suppose you suffered a permanent traumatic brain injury that leaves you unable to work. In that case, you may be able to pursue damages from the at-fault party even if you selected limited tort coverage.
Can I File a Claim if I Was Partially at Fault?
Under Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence law, you can recover damages if you are not more than 50 percent at fault for the accident. However, the compensation you can recover will be reduced in proportion to your share of the blame.
For example, suppose you are 30 percent at fault for an accident, and the court awards you $500,000. You would receive 70 percent of that amount, or $350,000. If the other party has the remaining 70 percent of the fault, they would not be eligible to seek damages.
Finding Evidence of Fault in a Merging Car Accident
To establish fault for an accident, you must prove the other party’s actions met the legal definition of negligence. In the case of a merging car crash, that means:
- Duty: The other driver owed you a duty. Every driver has a duty to drive safely, obey traffic laws, and avoid harming others on the road.
- Breach: The other party breached their duty to drive safely by failing to exercise due care.
- Causation: That breach caused or contributed to the accident and your injuries.
- Damages: You suffered harm and damages from the accident.
You must present evidence, such as witness testimony, traffic camera footage, and photos of vehicle damage, to prove your case. If you or the other party has a dashboard camera, recovering that evidence can make your case easier to prove.
You also need to prove that the accident caused your injury. Medical records and testimony from a doctor are common forms of proof.
An experienced car accident attorney from Cordisco & Saile can help. We will leverage our significant knowledge and resources to investigate your car accident, obtain critical evidence, and build the strongest claim possible.
What Is Considered a Merging Accident?
A merging accident typically occurs when vehicles collide when one is attempting to enter another lane.
Unlike other car accidents, which often involve at least one stopped or slowly moving car, merging car accidents happen between two potentially fast-moving vehicles. If the accident occurs on a highway, there is the potential for the colliding vehicles to be traveling at 60 miles per hour or more before a collision. These high speeds significantly increase the likelihood of severe injury.
Who Has the Right of Way in a Merging Situation?
According to the Pennsylvania state driver’s manual, the merging car must yield to vehicles already in the target lane, whether the merging traffic is approaching from the right or left.
Drivers must ensure their merge is safe by following the basic rules of the road, including the following:
- Using a turn signal to indicate the desire to merge
- Identifying a safely sized gap in traffic
- Checking mirrors and blind spots for oncoming cars
- Adjusting speed to match traffic flow
Merging can be stressful, especially on busy roads where assessing space is difficult. Following the rules of the road helps you avoid causing a collision, but there are times when another driver’s negligence makes a crash unavoidable. If you were in an accident involving improper merging, consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Common Causes of Merging Car Accidents
Driver behavior can make a merging car accident more likely. Examples of negligence that commonly causes accidents include the following:
- Failing to check blind spots: Blind spots are areas around your car that you can’t see without turning your head. Their locations vary by car design.
- Driving too fast: Speeding increases your likelihood of a crash by reducing the time it takes to stop the car. If you drive too fast, you could collide before you have time to react.
- Distracted driving: Texting and other distractions take your eyes off the road and increase your chances of having an accident, particularly in high-risk situations such as merging.
- Improper lane changes: Failing to signal or leave enough space increases the risk of a crash.
- Merging too slowly or quickly: Not moving with the traffic flow makes it difficult for other cars to predict your movement.
- Cutting off other vehicles: Merging too closely to an oncoming car can make the other car swerve or brake suddenly, possibly causing an accident.
- Confusing or missing road signs: While not driver-related, signage issues can encourage improper merging.
If you were in a lane merge accident and another driver engaged in any of these actions, you may have a case against them.
When Do Most Merging Accidents Occur?
Motor vehicle crashes are more likely to happen during peak traffic, most notably in the evenings. Pennsylvania sees nearly double the number of accidents between 3 and 6 p.m. as between 9 and 11 a.m.
Surprisingly, most accidents do not occur under adverse weather or road conditions. More than three-quarters of all Pennsylvania accidents happen when the weather is clear and roads are dry. It’s important to use caution in all weather conditions, even when you think the risk is low.
Injured in a Merging Accident? Learn Your Legal Options
If you have suffered an injury in a merging car accident caused by another driver, you might be eligible for compensation. Our nationally recognized team of attorneys is here to help.
At Cordisco & Saile, we fight hard for the people of Pennsylvania. We’ve practiced personal injury law for over 30 years and have recovered over $100 million in client compensation.
Insurance companies know clients mean business when they see our name on the paperwork. We fight passionately for your rights, no matter what it takes. To learn more about how we can help you, call us at 215-642-2335 or contact us online for a free consultation.
