When there's a chain reaction of rear end collisions with 3 or more cars,  the only person who can easily prove that he's free from fault is the first person in the line.  But is the last car in line at fault alone or is fault shared with the middle car?  That dispute can send what should be a simple case into lengthy litigation, with the insurance companies for the middle and last cars blaming each other's drivers in an expensive swearing match.

To determine fault, we look to the number of impacts felt by the first driver.  If there's only 1 impact, that means the last driver knocked the middle car into the first in line.  In that case, all the blame is on the last driver.

If the first driver feels 2 impacts, that means he was rear ended by the fault of the middle driver first, and the fault is shared.

It's important to hire an attorney early on to take statements from the drivers as soon as possible

I'm attorney Greg DiLeo, and this has been Your Legal Minute.