If you are injured in a collision with another vehicle, there is a good chance that the other driver and their insurer may blame you. If you banged your head in the crash, you might not remember what happened, which can make it difficult to deny it was your fault.

Even if you remember that you were slightly over the speed limit or talking to your friend in the passenger seat, that does not mean the crash is your fault. While you may have made a minor error, the other motorist involved may have been doing something worse when the collision occurred.

Most crashes come down to some form of driver error

Alcohol or drug use, speeding or phone use are to blame for many crashes. Yet, they are not the only reasons crashes occur. Here are some reasons you might not have considered that may explain why collisions occur:

• Inexperience: If the other driver is young and their car has a powerful engine, they may have lost control. If the crash happened on a corner or bend, they might have misjudged where the line was and strayed into your lane.
• Eyesight issues:  This is more likely in someone older, yet even young people may need to wear glasses when driving. If they do not like the stigma attached to wearing them, they might refuse to wear them, even though it jeopardizes others’ safety by them doing so.
• Faulty lights: Let’s say you hit a vehicle at night. The other driver claims that you should have seen them indicating or braking. You cannot understand how you missed them. It may be that their lights were not working.
• Distractions: A check of your phone records may back up a driver’s claim that they were not making a call when an accident occurred. That does not mean they were paying attention to the road. Distraction can take on many forms.

Do not let anyone bully you into accepting full or partial blame for a vehicle crash. By refusing to settle early, you give yourself time to investigate the true cause of the collision and claim the compensation you need.