Maryland Injury Insurance Dispute Video Series
The Insurance Company Says I Caused the Accident. What Happens Now?
Short answer: an insurance company can decide that you caused or contributed to a Maryland accident and use that position to deny your injury claim. That does not make the adjuster’s conclusion a judicial finding. The real question is whether the insurer’s fault position can be supported by the evidence and, if challenged through litigation, withstand scrutiny in court.
Eric T. Kirk discusses disputed fault, Maryland contributory negligence, evidence, insurance-company claim decisions, and the transition from a denied claim to litigation.
What Does It Mean When the Insurance Company Says You Caused the Accident?
It means the insurance company has adopted a liability position that may allow it to deny or limit payment on the injury claim.
The adjuster may contend that you changed lanes improperly, failed to yield, entered an intersection at the wrong time, followed too closely, was speeding, failed to maintain a proper lookout, disregarded a traffic-control device, or otherwise contributed to causing the collision.
That position matters. It can determine whether the insurer voluntarily offers compensation during the claim process.
But an adjuster’s determination is not the same thing as a judicial determination of what happened.
The first question should therefore be specific:
What exactly does the insurance company contend you did wrong?
A generalized statement that you “caused the accident” is a conclusion. A meaningful liability analysis requires identifying the particular conduct the insurance company says caused or contributed to the collision and then comparing that allegation to the available evidence.
Is the Insurance Adjuster’s Fault Decision Final?
No. The adjuster determines the insurance company’s position during the claim process. The adjuster does not acquire the authority of a judge or jury simply because the company has denied the claim.
| Stage | What Happens | Who Controls the Decision? |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance claim | The insurer investigates the collision, evaluates liability and decides whether it will voluntarily pay the claim. | The insurance company and its claims personnel. |
| Litigation | The parties obtain evidence through discovery, testimony, documents, photographs, video, expert evidence where appropriate, and other admissible proof. | The judicial process governs. If disputed factual issues reach trial, the appropriate judge or jury determines them. |
This distinction is central to an injury insurance dispute. The insurance company can decide what it is willing to pay voluntarily. It does not necessarily get the final word on disputed facts.
Why Is a Fault Allegation So Serious in Maryland?
Maryland continues to apply contributory negligence rather than the comparative-fault system used in most states.
In a comparative-fault jurisdiction, responsibility may be divided between the participants and a claimant’s financial recovery may be reduced according to an assigned percentage of fault.
Maryland’s analysis is different. If the defense establishes that the injured person’s own negligent conduct contributed legally and causally to the accident or injury, contributory negligence can bar the negligence claim.
That is why a carrier’s allegation that an injured person caused or contributed to a collision cannot be treated casually.
For a more detailed discussion of the doctrine itself, see Maryland Contributory Negligence After a Car Accident.
Does an Insurance Company’s Percentage of Fault Control a Maryland Injury Claim?
No. An adjuster may say that one driver was 80 percent responsible and the injured person was 20 percent responsible. That may be part of the insurer’s internal claim analysis or settlement position, but Maryland contributory negligence is not simply a system of subtracting the claimant’s percentage from the damages.
The more important questions are whether the injured person’s conduct was negligent and whether that negligence actually contributed to causing the accident or injury in a legally significant way.
The percentage assigned by an adjuster does not itself establish those facts.
What Evidence Can Challenge an Insurance Company’s Fault Decision?
A fault dispute should move quickly from conclusions to evidence.
| Evidence | What It May Help Establish |
|---|---|
| Vehicle photographs | Points of impact, direction of movement, collision mechanics, relative vehicle positions and consistency with competing versions of the crash. |
| Scene photographs | Lane configuration, sight lines, traffic controls, intersections, roadway markings, obstructions and physical layout. |
| Surveillance or CCTV video | Actual vehicle movements, signal phases, timing, visibility and events immediately before impact. |
| Dash-camera footage | Lane position, speed-related context, traffic signals, roadway conditions and conduct of the participants. |
| Witness statements | What independent observers saw or heard before, during and immediately after the collision. |
| Police or body-camera evidence | Early statements, scene conditions, vehicle locations, observations and other information recorded soon after the event. |
| Electronic evidence | Where available and appropriate, vehicle or other electronic information may help address speed, movement, braking or timing. |
Not every case has every form of evidence. The investigation should identify what evidence actually exists, what can still be preserved, and whether it supports or contradicts the insurance company’s theory.
How Should a Maryland Fault Denial Be Analyzed?
- Identify the insurer’s exact allegation. Determine precisely what conduct the insurance company says caused or contributed to the collision.
- Separate conclusions from evidence. An adjuster’s statement that you were at fault is not the underlying proof.
- Collect the objective evidence. Photographs, video, witnesses, roadway evidence, traffic controls, vehicle damage and contemporaneous statements may establish what actually occurred.
- Determine whether the alleged conduct was causally connected to the accident. The existence of some alleged mistake does not end the analysis unless it actually matters to how the collision occurred.
- Evaluate whether the insurer’s position can be challenged. If the evidence and governing law provide a good-faith basis for doing so, the dispute may move from claims handling into litigation.
Insurance Company Blaming You for the Accident?
I review Maryland injury claims involving disputed fault, contributory-negligence allegations and insurance companies that refuse to accept responsibility or pay fair compensation.
A complimentary case analysis can identify the insurer’s theory, the available evidence, potential weaknesses in the defense and whether litigation should be considered.
Call 410-591-2835 Request a Complimentary Case AnalysisWhat Happens If the Insurance Company Refuses to Change Its Position?
If investigation and negotiation do not resolve the fault dispute, litigation may provide the procedure for testing the insurance company’s position.
In an ordinary third-party automobile injury case, litigation is generally initiated against the driver, vehicle owner, business, or other legally responsible party—not merely against a liability insurer because it issued the policy.
In practical terms, however, the insurance company may remain deeply involved. It may retain defense counsel, develop defenses, authorize settlement, retain experts and pay a covered settlement or judgment.
Once litigation begins, the dispute is no longer confined to the insurer’s internal claim process.
Litigation Is a Process, Not a Single Event
Initiating litigation does not mean that the case immediately proceeds to a courtroom trial.
Litigation can include pleadings, written discovery, document production, interrogatories, depositions, expert investigation where appropriate, motions, settlement discussions, mediation and trial preparation.
Those procedures can produce information that was unavailable—or not fully developed—when the insurance adjuster initially decided the claim.
If the case ultimately proceeds to trial, disputed facts are presented to the appropriate factfinder.
That is the central distinction made in the video:
The insurance company can take a position on fault. If the dispute reaches trial, the claims adjuster does not get the final word.
Can Maryland’s Last Clear Chance Doctrine Matter in a Fault Dispute?
Sometimes, but it is narrow and highly dependent on the sequence of events.
Last clear chance is not a general method of escaping every contributory-negligence defense. It may become relevant where the evidence supports a distinct later opportunity for the defendant to avoid the harm after the claimant’s earlier negligence has placed the claimant in danger.
See What Is the Last Clear Chance Doctrine? for a separate discussion of that issue.
Is Contributory Negligence the Same as Assumption of the Risk?
No. Both can operate as complete defenses in appropriate Maryland cases, but they address different conduct.
Contributory negligence generally concerns whether the injured person’s failure to exercise reasonable care contributed to the injury. Assumption of the risk focuses on whether the person knowingly and voluntarily encountered a known danger.
See Assumption of the Risk in Maryland Personal Injury Cases.
Video Transcript: The Insurance Company Says I Caused the Accident
The transcript below follows the final published video. Obvious automated-caption spelling and punctuation errors have been corrected for readability.
0:00
The insurance company says you caused the accident. The important thing to remember here is this is a statement about the insurance company’s position.
0:10
It’s not a judicial finding of what actually happened in your accident. But make no mistake, in Maryland, an allegation of fault causing an accident or contributing to an accident is a serious statement.
0:26
In Maryland, contributory negligence, if that finding is upheld after trial, can operate to completely bar any financial recovery whatsoever by the injured person.
0:35
A significant point: the adjuster’s finding is not a judicial finding.
0:44
Insurance company adjusters are paid to do just that, to adjust claims. They may accept responsibility and make a payment on a claim. In my experience, more often insurance adjusters find ways to limit claims or deny claims outright.
1:01
An insurance company adjuster might assert any number of defenses to a claim, but in Maryland, contributory negligence is certainly one of the most powerful, for it can operate to deny any financial recovery to the injured person.
1:16
Insurance claims adjusters adjust claims. They set out the insurance company’s position. Where you disagree with that position, that position can be challenged using evidence and legal argument. I litigate that claim denial against the insurance company.
1:35
Where an insurance company has denied a claim based on contributory negligence, the analysis starts with the facts.
1:40
Why is this claims adjuster saying you caused the accident? What do the photographs of the involved vehicle show? What does scene footage show about the layout of the intersection, the presence or absence of traffic-control devices?
2:00
What do the videos show, if there are any, whether that’s CCTV footage or private surveillance from a neighboring business or home? What do the witnesses say? Is there body-cam footage from a responding police officer?
2:17
These materials must be examined in great detail to determine whether the adjuster’s assertion of contributory negligence is supported factually.
2:27
Maryland continues to adhere to the ancient common-law doctrine of contributory negligence. Many states have gone to a system of comparative fault where the relative degrees of responsibility in causing an accident are weighed against each other and balanced out.
2:42
Not so in Maryland. And this is the allure and appeal of a contributory-negligence defense for an insurance company.
2:50
The ancient harsh doctrine of contributory negligence holds that if an injured person contributed in any fashion, no matter how slight, to the happening of an accident, they receive no compensation at all.
3:06
What we commonly see in Maryland is adjusters using percentages of fault. For example, the insurance company analysis might say that the injured person was 20% at fault for the accident, whereas the other driver was 80% at fault.
3:15
These percentages don’t matter in Maryland. Contributory negligence is an all-or-nothing proposition.
3:30
What happens when an insurance company denies your claim based on a contributory-negligence defense?
3:38
My initial job is to investigate the facts of the accident, to look at the scene photographs, the footage if any, to talk to witnesses and the participants, to develop an understanding if the insurance company’s position is factually supported or legally supported.
3:54
Where there is the avenue of a challenge available, litigation is the next step.
4:03
Here, a lawsuit is filed against the appropriate party. Litigation is a process, not an event. It is the filing of a lawsuit and the events that come after, which include things like discovery, obtaining information, the statements of other witnesses, and ultimately presenting that evidence in a trial and asking a judge or a jury to determine what happened.
4:26
In this instance, one of the questions that those judges or jurors would be asked is, “Did the injured person cause or contribute to this accident?”
4:33
They get the final word, not the claims adjuster.
Frequently Asked Questions About Insurance Companies Blaming Injured Drivers in Maryland
Can an insurance adjuster decide that I caused a Maryland car accident?
The adjuster can adopt that position for purposes of the insurance company’s claim evaluation and settlement decision. That does not make the adjuster’s conclusion a binding judicial determination of what happened.
If the insurance company says I was 20 percent at fault, do I still recover 80 percent?
Not simply because of those percentages. Maryland follows contributory negligence rather than the ordinary comparative-fault approach used in many other states. If contributory negligence is established, it can bar recovery rather than merely reduce damages by an assigned percentage.
Does the police report determine who was legally at fault?
No single document necessarily determines civil liability. A police report may contain important information, but a complete analysis may also involve photographs, witness testimony, video, roadway evidence, statements, vehicle damage and other proof.
What evidence is most useful when the insurance company disputes fault?
Depending on the collision, useful evidence may include scene and vehicle photographs, surveillance video, dash-camera footage, witness statements, traffic-control information, police or body-camera material and relevant electronic evidence.
What if there is no video of the accident?
A case does not necessarily depend on video. Witness testimony, photographs, physical evidence, vehicle damage, roadway configuration, contemporaneous statements and other evidence may still permit the events to be reconstructed and the insurer’s theory to be tested.
Can an insurance company change its fault position after denying my claim?
Yes. A claim position can change when additional evidence is produced, new witnesses are identified, factual assumptions are corrected or litigation develops information that was not available during the initial adjustment process.
Does an insurance denial based on contributory negligence mean my case is over?
Not necessarily. The important question is whether the contributory-negligence position is supported by the facts and applicable law. A viable challenge may involve additional investigation, negotiation or litigation against the appropriate responsible parties.
Who is sued if the other driver’s insurance company denies my claim?
In an ordinary third-party automobile negligence case, the lawsuit is generally brought against the driver, vehicle owner or another legally responsible person or entity. The liability insurer may nevertheless control or substantially influence the defense and settlement process.
Does Last Clear Chance automatically defeat contributory negligence?
No. Last clear chance is a narrow and fact-dependent doctrine involving the sequence of negligence and a later opportunity to avoid the harm. It is not a general exception whenever contributory negligence is alleged.
Do Not Let the Insurance Company’s Fault Position Become the Final Word on Your Injury Claim
If an insurance company is blaming you for a Maryland collision, the next question is whether its position is supported by the evidence.
I review disputed-fault injury claims, identify the insurer’s theory, examine the available evidence and evaluate whether there is a good-faith basis to challenge the denial through the appropriate process.
Call Eric T. Kirk: 410-591-2835 Request a Complimentary Case AnalysisA case analysis does not create an attorney-client relationship. Representation begins only after a matter is accepted and a written agreement is signed. No result, settlement, verdict or recovery is guaranteed.
