How liability for a car accident is determined liability for a car accident is usually determined by the amount of fault that has been assigned to the drivers that were involved in a car accident it is also determined by taking a close look at the circumstances of the accident and how it occurred the blame or fault will then be apportioned between each of the drivers however working out who is to blame and how much each of the drivers is to blame can be difficult and it can also depend on what exactly what occurred and how the fault will also depend on the auto law that has been put in place in the state you live in however there are three different types of liability laws that affect car accidents and these are hybrid jurisdictions fault and no-fault and we're going to take a look at each of these jurisdictions now how liability is determined in fault States most states tend to use a determination of fault when it comes to assigning liability in a car accident case in some situations the fault is already apparent especially when there have been clear acts of negligence such as speeding and running a stop sign situations such as these tend to require very little analysis when a portioning fault this is because the individual who was driving in a negligent manner will automatically be at fault and will be held liable for the accident and any injuries that were sustained in some circumstances deciding who is to blame can be a lot harder cases that involve the failure to yield are a prime example traffic conditions the conditions of the road and the drivers actions can all play a part in an accident if the driver happened to receive a ticket for their actions it is likely that they will be held liable comparative negligence in many parts of the United States contributory and comparative negligence usually come into play comparative negligence occurs when a certain percentage of fault is assigned to everyone involved in the accident some states that use the comparative negligence rule will prevent drivers from recovering a settlement if it is found that they are at least 50 percent responsible for an accident whereas some states do not have this rule in the amount of money a driver receives will depend on how negligent they were for example if a driver was found to be 65 percent negligent for an accident they will only receive 35 percent of the total damages contributory negligence the states that live by the contributory negligence rule completely bar any recovery of a settlement regardless of how much fault a driver has been apportioned this means that even if someone was found to be just 5 percent at fault for an accident they will not be awarded a settlement oftentimes juries will have differing opinions as to how much blame they should assign someone in comparative and contributory negligence cases can therefore be very subjective how liability is determined in the no-fault States a small number of states use what is known as a no-fault principle when they are determining liability for a car accident a driver who lives in one of these states is required to carry a minimum amount of car insurance by law when someone has been involved in an accident instead of assigning liability and working out who was at fault and then filing a lawsuit the victim of a car accident will need to make a claim with their insurance company if you wish to file a lawsuit in a no-fault state you must meet a specific threshold before you can go ahead the injuries you sustained as a result of a car accident must be serious enough or have resulted in a specific cost of your medical bills if and when these criteria have been met drivers can then file a lawsuit against a driver who has been found negligent the exact purpose of a system such as this is to reduce the number of lawsuits that can be filed after a car accident if the seriousness of injuries or the cost of medical bills is such that it meets the threshold contributory and comparative negligence principles will be used if you have sustained an injury due to being involved in a car accident that was another drivers fault please speak to a personal injury lawyer because you may have a personal injury claim