Handling Fender Benders in California: Everything You Need to Know

“Fender bender” is a name for a type of minor car accident. These minor accidents are common occurrences on the roads of America. While incidents like these are typically minor, it is critical for those involved in these accidents to understand these incidents’ legal implications.

This article seeks to give comprehensive guidance regarding how to handle a fender bender accident, covering insurance processes, legal obligations and when one should seek a lawyer. Successfully navigating situations like these with the proper knowledge about things like if your fender bender counts as an accident can have a significant impact upon the outcomes for parties involved.

What Is a Fender Bender?

The phrase “fender bender” generally refers to a minor accident involving two vehicles which often fails to lead to serious injuries, usually involves minor vehicle damage, and both vehicles are capable of driving after the minor collision. Any damage is usually minor damage and limited to the exterior parts of the vehicles such as their bumpers.

Other ways to define fender benders are:

• Accidents with no fatalities or injuries and only property damage
• Accidents which cause only minor injuries and minor property damage
• Accidents where your vehicle stays drivable despite any injuries
• Minor accidents involving unattended vehicles
• Low-speed accidents

Causes of Fender Benders

Common causes of fender benders include:

• A light collision when someone abruptly stops and gets rear-ended
• When a driver backs out of a parking space and hits the car behind them
• A vehicle clips another parked car in the parking lot
• A vehicle is pulling out into the flow of traffic
• A distracted driver unintentionally strikes a parked or moving car
• A vehicle gets rear-ended at a yield or stop sign, or in traffic which is slowing
• Aggressive driving
• Driving while intoxicated
• Driving while fatigued
• Poor visibility
• Not checking blind spots
• Absent, hard to see or confusing traffic signals or signs
• Unexpected people in the roadway or obstacles
• Driver negligence or error
• Poor roadway conditions

What to Do After a Fender Bender

Knowing what you need to do at the accident scene is important regarding filing an insurance claim with your insurance company or the other driver’s insurance company, and can speed the claim process along. You should:

Make Sure You’re Safe

Check yourself and everyone else involved in the accident to see if anyone has suffered injuries. Get your vehicle off the road if you can, or set up reflectors or flares to make your vehicle more visible to drivers.

Call Authorities

If anyone is injured, call 911. If nobody has been injured, you can report the accident by calling police. If police arrive at the scene of the accident, request a copy of the police report from them. If police don’t arrive at the scene of the accident, you may need to visit a police station to report the accident – ask for a copy of the police report there. The police report could be crucial when it comes time to attempting to recover financial compensation via an insurance claim.

Take Notes and Exchange Information

Share vehicle, contact and insurance information with the other driver or drivers. Take pictures of the accident scene, any injuries and any damage to any vehicles. Take pictures from multiple angles and make sure to get pictures of any relevant details such as roadway conditions, weather, traffic signs and signals, etc.

Note the details of the accident and get the phone numbers and names of all witnesses. When noting accident details, note details of what happened, relevant scene details and roadway conditions. Your notes and photos may be very helpful when it comes time to filing an insurance claim.

Call Your Insurance Company Regardless of Fault

It’s vital that you contact your insurance company after your accident, regardless of fault or the accident being minor. In terms of insurance, fender benders count as accidents if any damage at all occurs. If another driver or their insurance company calls first, your insurance company might end up at a disadvantage when they’re not aware you got in an accident. Also, not reporting a fender bender could be a violation of your insurance policy.

Call a Lawyer if You Were Hurt

If you were injured, call a personal injury lawyer. Studies show that injury victims who hire lawyers end up recovering way more money for their injuries than those who don’t – even after fees charged by attorneys are taken into account.

Preventing Fender Benders

Preventing things is always better than curing things. So, how can you avoid fender benders in the future? A good start is avoiding driving while distracted. Avoiding smartphone use and following all rules of the road, especially speed limits, can lead to the chances of you getting in a fender bender being significantly reduced.

Drive defensively by:

• Keeping focused on the task of driving
• Staying completely aware of what surrounds you
• Keeping a safe distance away from the vehicle in front of you, giving yourself enough space to safely stop
• Increasing the distance between you and the vehicle in front of you when weather is poor
• Be patient
• Mind your blind spots

Communicate the intentions you have clearly with all other drivers through the use of signals, and always yield the right of way when it is required. This can avoid accidents and misunderstandings.

Doing these things can significantly lower the chances you have of getting in a fender bender.

The Importance of Reporting a Fender Bender

First of all, if anyone is injured or killed in the accident or more than $1,000 worth of damage happens, you are duty bound by the law to report the collision to the DMV in California. You must complete this report and send it to the DMV and you have 10 days to do this for a car accident that is your fault or isn’t your fault and even when the accident happens on private property.

Second, even for minor accidents like fender benders, police reports can be critical when it comes time to recover compensation for the accident. Police reports provide objective accounts of accidents which may be critical to resolve disputes with insurance companies or other drivers.

Police reports include details about accidents statements given by the parties involved, and observations from officers.

It’s especially critical to call the police whenever any injuries occur, whenever significant damage occurs, if disputes over accidents occur, or when drivers appear like they’re drunk or drugged.

You can be penalized for failing to file a report for an accident like a broadside collision in which injuries or significant damage occurred. It can also be more difficult to file an insurance claim or defend yourself against another party’s claim if you don’t have a DMV record or police report.

If you fail to report you accident to your insurance company, this could violate your policy’s terms, leading to you being denied coverage.

When to Call a Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been injured in a fender bender accident, contact us today for a free consultation.

We have been helping those who have been injured in vehicle accidents recover financial compensation for their injuries since 1990, having recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of our injured clients. Our vast experience will allow us to recover the most money possible for you.

If you cannot afford to have the injuries you suffered in a fender bender treated, we’ll get you to doctors who won’t charge you until your case is over.

We won’t charge any fee to handle your fender bender case until and unless we recover financial compensation on your behalf. The only fee we’ll charge to handle your fender bender case is a percentage of any compensation we recover for you – you won’t owe us an upfront fee or out-of-pocket fee.

Call us today for a free consultation.