The Law Of Rear-End Automobile Accidents In Maryland

A rear end collision can be the fault of the car in front or the car in back, contrary to popular belief. Many people think the car in back in a rear end collision is always to blame. It may very often be to blame, but not always.

I have written this article because I wanted to make it clear just what the law is in around who is responsible for a rear end automobile accident. When people know the law, the job of an automobile accident attorney is a lot easier.

The Maryland Court of Appeals has spoken about this issue. Maryland doesn't have a Supreme Court, as such; the Court of Appeals is like the Supreme Court in Maryland. It's the most powerful court in Maryland. What the Maryland Court of Appeals says very clearly is that they "specifically hold that the mere happening of a rear-end collision of two motor vehicles, without evidence of the circumstances under which it happened, is not proof of negligence of either driver."

What that means is, without more facts, if all you know is that there's a rear-end collision, that doesn't mean the driver in the back is to blame for it. The driver in front isn't necessarily to blame, though. In each and every time when there's a rear-end collision, it depends on what happened to cause that collision to figure out which driver is to blame.

The Court of Appeals goes on to say that "the driver of the front car must exercise ordinary care not to stop or slow up without giving the driver of the rear car adequate warning of his intention to do so." So, what the driver of the front car has to do is make sure that somebody driving behind him isn't going to plow into him. He's got to give adequate notice that he's slowing down or he's stopping by putting on his brakes and letting the brake lights shine, for example.

The Court says that "the driver of the rear car must exercise ordinary care to avoid colliding with the front car." So, the driver that's driving behind has to be attentive for brake lights and can't be going too fast, or not paying attention.

When you slow down and when you stop, your brake lights go on automatically. It may be that most of the time when there's a rear-end collision the fault lies with the driver in the back because the driver in front has brake lights. It isn't always that way, though.

If you've been in a rear-end collision, you should talk to a car accident lawyer and tell the lawyer about all of the facts that went into the collision; all of the specific little things that happened right before the accident. That's the best way to figure out whether it's your fault or the other driver's fault; whether you're the driver to blame or the other driver is.

Matt Kaiser is an attorney at The Kaiser Law Firm PLLC in Washington, D.C. He represents people who have been injured in car accidents [http://www.personal-injury-dc.com] as a result of the carelessness of others. Matt has written a consumer's guide to car accident claims for people to read BEFORE they hire a lawyer or sign any insurance forms. Residents of Maryland and D.C. residents can get a free copy of this consumer guide at [http://www.personal-injury-dc.com]

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