Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 1/14/2010

Question
On January 5th of 2010 I was involved in a 4 car crash in SW Florida. The accident started when an unidentified truck made an illegal u-turn over a raised median, his car was undamaged and he left before police or anyone could do anything. I was unable to stop in time and my truck hit the car in front of me, which then hit another car, which hit another car, a total of 4 cars including mine. Am I responsible for the repairs to all the cars? I only have $10,000 in property damage coverage and have been notified by my insurance damages will most likely exceed that.  

Answer
Hi Richard,

Unfortunately, yes. You will be considered to be at fault in this situation because you rearended the car in front of you and that started the chain of damage, since there was no impact with the "fantom" vehicle. The law requires that yopu be able to control your vehicle regardless of what happens in front of you. Anytime you rear end another vehicle, you are considered to be at fault unless you can prove that the vehicle you rearended stopped in the middle of the road and then backed up into you.

It is for this reason that you should always carry more than just the state minimum insurance. The lowest property damage coverage anyone should carry is $50,000.00.

In this situation each damaged car will be repaired by their respective insurance company. Your insurance company will then reimburse them on a pro-rated basis. The other three insurance companies will then come after you for the balance. If you don't have the ability to pay or make a payment arrangement, they will likely file suit in order to get a judgement that will last for 10 years.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh