Indiana law can reduce your compensation if you were partly responsible for a car crash. If your fault is 50% or less, your compensation is reduced by that percentage. If your fault is more than 50%, Indiana’s comparative fault law can prevent you from recovering anything.
How does Indiana’s comparative fault law work after a car crash?
Imagine you’re sitting at a stoplight in Indianapolis. Another driver rear-ends you. It seems about as straightforward as a car crash can get.
Then, a week later, the insurance adjuster calls.
The adjuster claims you stopped too quickly. Now the insurance company says you were 20% responsible for the collision.
That percentage matters because Indiana follows a modified comparative fault system.
Under Indiana Code § 34-51-2-6, a person whose fault is greater than the fault of everyone they are claiming against cannot recover damages. In a typical two-driver crash, that creates the critical 51% threshold.
Put simply:
- 0% at fault: Your damages are not reduced for comparative fault.
- 20% at fault: Your damages are reduced by 20%.
- 50% at fault: Your damages are reduced by 50%.
- 51% at fault: You may recover nothing in a two-party case.
That last percentage is where things get ugly.
How much money can you lose if you are partly at fault?
Your percentage of fault can directly reduce the amount you recover.
Suppose your total damages are $100,000. If you are found 20% responsible, your potential recovery becomes $80,000.
That is a $20,000 difference based on one disputed percentage.
At 50% fault, the same $100,000 in damages could become $50,000.
Cross the line to 51% in a two-party case, however, and the result can become zero.
Comparative fault is not some technical detail buried in paperwork. It can determine whether you recover most of your damages, half of them, or nothing.
Can an insurance adjuster decide that I was 20% or 51% at fault?
An insurance adjuster can take a position on fault, but that does not make the adjuster’s percentage legally binding.
Insurance companies investigate crashes and make liability decisions when evaluating claims. You do not have to accept their version of what happened simply because an adjuster states it confidently.
Fault should be evaluated using evidence.
Depending on the crash, useful evidence may include:
- Police crash reports;
- Witness statements;
- Photos and videos from the scene;
- Vehicle damage;
- Dash-camera footage;
- Vehicle event data recorders, sometimes called “black boxes”; and
- Crash reconstruction evidence.
An adjuster might claim you were speeding, distracted, or following too closely. The evidence may tell a very different story.
Why does the insurance company want a recorded statement?
A recorded statement gives an insurance company another opportunity to gather information about the collision.
That information can potentially be used to argue that you share some responsibility.
Maybe you say, “I guess I stopped pretty quickly.”
Perhaps you mention looking away for a moment. Maybe you speculate about something you cannot actually remember.
Those comments can become important when fault is disputed.
This is why seemingly casual conversations with an adjuster deserve careful attention. A small shift in the fault calculation can mean a significant reduction in compensation.
Can saying “I’m sorry” after an Indianapolis car crash hurt my claim?
An apology or careless statement can create an unnecessary argument about fault.
After a crash, people often say things because they are shaken up. Someone might say, “I’m sorry,” even when they did absolutely nothing wrong.
That is human nature.
The problem is that an insurance company may later point to the statement when arguing about responsibility.
You do not need to argue with the other driver. You also do not need to guess about why the crash happened.
Stay calm. Cooperate with law enforcement. Describe facts you actually know, and avoid speculating or unnecessarily accepting blame.
Let the evidence establish what happened.
What if the other driver clearly rear-ended me?
A rear-end collision may appear obvious, but an insurance company can still investigate whether another person contributed to the crash.
For example, the insurer might raise questions about speed, braking, distraction, vehicle positioning, or other circumstances surrounding the collision.
That does not mean those allegations are correct.
A claim of comparative fault still needs factual support. Photos, witness accounts, vehicle data, and other evidence can become particularly important when the insurer tries to shift responsibility.
This is another reason to preserve evidence as early as possible.
What should I do if the insurance company says I caused part of the crash?
Do not assume the insurance company’s percentage is the final answer.
Instead, preserve anything that could help establish how the collision actually happened. That may include:
- Photos and videos from the crash scene;
- Contact information for witnesses;
- The police crash report;
- Dash-camera footage;
- Communications from the insurance company; and
- Records concerning your injuries and medical treatment.
Be cautious about guessing, admitting fault, or giving statements about details you do not remember clearly.
An Indiana injury lawyer can also examine the evidence and challenge unsupported attempts to shift blame.
Why does one percentage point matter so much in an Indiana injury case?
Because in a two-party Indiana injury case, the difference between 50% and 51% fault can be the difference between recovering damages and recovering nothing.
That makes comparative fault one of the most important issues in a disputed Indiana car crash claim.
An insurance company may argue that you contributed to your injuries. You are allowed to challenge that argument.
The question is not simply what percentage an adjuster puts in a claim file. The real question is what the evidence can establish.
If you have been injured in an Indiana car crash and have been told you are partly at fault, contact the Marc Lopez Law Firm at 463-842-0466 to speak with a lawyer today.