What Can I Do if the At-Fault Driver is Lying About What Happened?

While you would like to think every motorist would take responsibility when they cause an accident, unfortunately, that’s a naïve view. In the real world, drivers lie for a wide range of reasons. If you’ve been hurt in an accident that’s someone else’s fault, that driver lies in an effort to deflect blame, your case could suffer as a result. That could mean your claim is either substantially reduced, or completely denied.

The attorneys with Jones Law Group will not let your rights be trampled on in this fashion. We have years of experience in helping clients get what they deserve – even when at-fault drivers tried to lie. We know how to uncover the evidence needed to prove our clients’ cases beyond a shadow of a doubt. And we’re ready to do the same thing for you.

Don’t let the lies of an at-fault driver jeopardize your financial future. Get in touch with Jones Law Group by using our online form or calling (727) 571-1333 for a free case review.

How Frequently Do At-Fault Drivers Lie?

There are no hard scientific studies devoted to this topic. However, in our years of representing car accident injury victims, we’ve seen far too many instances of drivers trying to lie their way out of accountability.

Why do they do this? There are a lot of reasons. They might simply not want another accident on their driving record, because they know that will cause their insurance rates to go through the roof. They might deny committing any of the following acts of negligence as a result.

• Using their smartphone to talk and/or text while driving.
• Driving without enough rest, which can be particularly troublesome for commercial truck drivers who have to follow federal regulations mandating rest breaks.
• Speeding
• Running a red light
• Driving while drunk, which could obviously result in a lengthy prison sentence.

Common Lies At-Fault Drivers May Tell

Most drivers who try and avoid blame aren’t simply pathological liars. They’re often desperate, looking for whatever avenue they can find to get out of a messy situation. Lying at-fault drivers aren’t necessarily trying to hurt others involved in the wreck – they’re just trying to protect themselves and they don’t see any other way. The lying driver could be trying to avoid jail time.

This obviously isn’t meant to try and excuse this behavior. It’s plain wrong, and it can make life incredibly difficult for the victims of those lies. Lying motorists may claim that their brakes suddenly failed, or deny they were drunk or speeding. They might deny they were on their phone surfing the internet at the time of the crash.

Ways to Protect Your Claim from a Lying Driver

While no one wants to assume that another driver will lie about their responsibility, it will be important that you protect yourself just in case this happens. You’ll need to take whatever steps you can to gather the evidence needed in order to prove that the accident was the lying driver’s fault, not yours.

Thankfully, there are quite a few ways you can do this. Here are just a few to keep in mind.

• Give an accurate police statement. Of course, you have nothing to hide since the wreck wasn’t your fault. But you’ll want to be as accurate as you can possibly be when telling the officer what happened. This could actually make the difference between you obtaining the money you deserve, and possibly getting nothing.
• Talk to witnesses. It’s probably a lot to ask for someone just in an auto accident to have the wherewithal to try and get statements from any witnesses who might have seen what occurred. However, if possible, you should try to get their contact information. Your attorney will then get in touch with them to get all the statements they can.
• Take pictures. Photos and videos can be incredibly powerful pieces of evidence. Once you’ve summoned medical help, use your smartphone to get as much visual evidence as you can of the accident scene. This includes not only vehicle damage, but skid marks as well. Those skid marks could show that the at-fault driver was speeding at the time of the accident.

Are There Consequences for Lying?

There can definitely be significant consequences when an at-fault driver gets caught in a lie. For example, their insurance carrier could cancel their policy. This would make it very, very hard for that driver to get coverage in the future. Even if they could find a company to provide them with coverage, they’d have to pay a lot more money than just about all other policyholders.

When this happens, the driver will have to pay out of their own pocket for any damage they cause if they’re ever involved in another wreck.

There is also the chance that a lying driver will face significant fines or possibly even a jail sentence.

Will My Claim Be Denied Because the At-Fault Party Lied?

Unfortunately, that’s a possibility. The other driver’s insurance company is going to do everything it can to avoid having to pay you a penny. If that carrier does offer a settlement, it will likely only be a fraction of what you actually deserve.

This is why it will be so critically important that you have as much solid evidence on your side as you can possibly obtain. You’ll need the help of an experienced attorney in order to get that evidence.

Contact an Experienced Car Accident Attorney Today

When you have a Jones Law Group car accident attorney by your side, you’ll be protected from the potential lies told by the at-fault driver who caused your collision. We know how to deal with this kind of situation. And we’ll do whatever it takes to expose those lies and help you get fair compensation for the injuries you’ve suffered.

If you would like more information on how we may be able to help, please contact us online or call (727) 571-1333 to schedule a free consultation.