What Are the Legal Consequences of a Motor Vehicle Accident in Connecticut?: FAQ

Accidents have legal consequences. Because there are always two sides to a story, you may encounter legal problems you didn’t anticipate. What are the legal consequences of a motor vehicle accident in Connecticut? The potential for problems varies depending on the accident circumstances. 

As a vehicle accident law firm, we deal with the legal consequences of motor vehicle accidents every day. We realize that you can’t always prevent an accident from occurring, but you should recognize the potential for complicated legal outcomes. This FAQ can help you identify and understand these potential post-accident consequences. 

What Are the Legal Consequences of a Motor Vehicle Accident in Connecticut?

You may deal with the legal consequences of a motor vehicle accident whether you’re at fault for the accident or not. When a police officer investigates a crash, they document the accident and obtain information from relevant parties. Depending on your actions and their accident assessment, an officer may issue a civil citation and/or criminal charges. 

• Driving Without Insurance: Connecticut’s Motor Vehicle Statutes, Chapter 246 §114-112, requires you to show proof of financial responsibility after an accident. if you can’t verify insurance or produce other acceptable proof, the officer may cite you. 

• Driving Without a License: It’s a crime to drive without a license. Your actions subject you to criminal charges and fines whether or not you’re involved in an accident.

• Risky Driving: A police officer may issue a civil citation or charge you with a crime if they determine you operated your vehicle in a way the National Highway Traffic Safety Association considers risky driving. These behaviors include speeding, driving distracted, drowsy, or other actions. 

• Driving under the influence: In Connecticut, you’re under the influence of alcohol or drugs if a police officer determines. 
• 1) drugs or alcohol are affecting your driving to an “appreciable degree”
• 2) You test positive for an unlawful blood alcohol concentration (BAC) based on statutory guidelines in CGS §§ 14-227a and -227b. 

By driving and registering a vehicle in Connecticut, you give implied consent to alcohol and drug testing. Refusing to test is also a violation. 

What Fines or Penalties Do I Face after a Motor Vehicle Accident in Connecticut?

Although courts have discretion in handing down convictions and penalties. If they convict you of a civil or criminal act involving your vehicle, it subjects you to at least the minimum penalties. 

• Driving Without Insurance: If you drive without insurance, an officer may issue you a citation. Penalties may include:
  • Fines 
  • License suspension
  • Registration revocation
  • Vehicle impoundment 
  • License restoration fees

• Driving Without a License: Penalties vary depending on your circumstances and whether your license was suspended or you never had a license in the first place. They may include:
  • Fine
  • Jail time
  • License suspension
  • Community service
  • Reinstatement fee: $175 
  • An administrative fee may apply: $100

• Risky Driving: Fines and penalties depend on your actions. They may include:
  • Civil: fines, points on your license, license suspension.
  • Criminal (reckless driving, negligent homicide, manslaughter, etc.): Fines, imprisonment, probation 

• Driving Under the Influence: Penalties include:
  • Test Refusal: If you refuse to test, you receive an automatic administrative license suspension.  
  • Positive Test: A positive test result may lead to mandatory jail time, a fine, a mandatory vehicle interlock device, and license suspension
  • If you qualify, you may be able to participate in a Pretrial Alcohol Education Program and the court may dismiss the charges.  

Under Connecticut’s system of progressive penalty system, subsequent convictions usually lead to increased penalties. If a court convicts you, insurance also becomes a problem. Insurers often increase premiums after an accident. If you were held responsible for a DUI violation, your insurer may cancel or non-renew your policy. If you can find replacement coverage, your premiums will increase due to surcharges. 

How Can a Motor Vehicle Accident Attorney Help Me with Legal Issues?

A serious crash can generate complicated civil and criminal issues. When you establish a relationship with a motor vehicle accident law firm, they provide the services you need to manage legal consequences after a motor vehicle accident. They identify the issues, explain them without legalese, and work to resolve them. 

A car accident attorney becomes your legal advocate. They can work to recover fair compensation for your damages and assist you with criminal defense when necessary.  

Defend civil and criminal cases: 

• Represent you during court appearances
• Explain and protect your legal rights
• Provide a civil or criminal defense for accident-related violations and charges
• Negotiate to reduce court-issued penalties and fines

Work to resolve your injury claim:

• Manage all contacts and correspondence with liability insurers
• Investigate your accident and evaluate liability issues
• Obtain medical documentation and evaluate your injuries
• Present settlement demands to the liability insurer
• Negotiate a fair settlement for economic and non-economic damages
• File a lawsuit as necessary
• Comply with discovery requests: documents, depositions, medical records
• Attend court hearings & settlement conferences
• Participate in Alternative Dispute Resolution 

Can Someone Sue Me after a Motor Vehicle Accident in Connecticut?

Each driver sees an accident from their own perspective. For example, if a driver crashes into your car but they believe you were speeding, neither they nor their insurer will assume that they owe you any compensation. In fact, they will probably do whatever it takes to prove that you owe them. They may begin their efforts informally, but will eventually file suit. 

Even if you believe you’re not at fault, the other driver and their insurers may sue you to recover bodily injury-related damages or property damage. 

• Auto insurers usually have subrogation rights–a legal right to recover any accident-related damages they pay. This may include vehicle damages, med pay, and any settlements paid under uninsured motorist, underinsured motorist, or uninsured motorist conversion coverage. 

• Healthcare insurers (including government insurance programs) have subrogation rights as well. They may become a party to the auto carrier’s suit. Even if they don’t, they expect beneficiaries to protect their legal interests.  

For these and other reasons, you should report your claim to your insurer and consult with a car accident lawyer as soon as possible. Both can take steps to protect your legal rights. 

• Conduct an independent investigation while the evidence is still fresh
• Determine liability and establish a position on fault
• Contact the other driver and their insurer
• Resolve your claim while you take time to heal

Your insurer has a right and a duty to assess the liability issues before the other party files a lawsuit. Attorneys take immediate steps to protect their client’s rights and seek compensation for their injuries. 

What Legal Options Do I Have if I Am Sued after a Motor Vehicle Accident?

If someone sues you, your liability insurer has a duty to defend you. Your auto policy’s “Duties After An Accident Or Loss” section explains your reporting responsibility for covered losses or lawsuits. 

Here are a few key issues to remember:

• Your auto liability insurer has a duty to defend you for accident-related suits.
• Auto policies require that you report accidents/legal papers immediately.  
• You should never wait until you receive notice of a lawsuit.
• If you delay reporting an accident, it may impede their ability to resolve a claim or provide a defense. 
• If a reporting delay jeopardizes an insurer’s rights, they may deny coverage and refuse to defend the suit.

To minimize coverage complications, you should report your accident as soon as possible after it occurs. Once you place your insurer on notice, they become responsible for managing your liability exposures. If you later send in a lawsuit, their claim department will have had time to evaluate liability and decide whether to defend or settle.

Your motor vehicle accident attorney also needs to know if the other party sued you. While they can’t interfere with an insurer’s right to defend your case, they may wish to intervene in the suit to protect your right to present an injury claim. Anything the insurer does to resolve the other driver’s case may affect your settlement outcome.

What Factors Determine Liability in a Connecticut Motor Vehicle Accident?

Insurance companies are usually first in line when it’s time to make decisions about liability. It’s one of the duties outlined in a typical auto insurance policy. Prior to making a settlement decision, a claims adjuster investigates each case and assesses liability. 

This process evaluates each driver’s actions based on a simple negligence formula:

• Duty Owed: Did the person have a duty to drive safely?
• Duty Breached: Did they violate that duty? (speed, drive distracted, etc.)
• Proximate Cause: Was their failure a direct factor in causing the accident?
• Damages: Did the accident cause the damages alleged? 

If your claim ends up in litigation and eventually makes it to trial, a judge or jury will assess liability using this same formula. 

Liability isn’t always that simple 

Connecticut’s comparative fault statute acknowledges that more than one person can contribute to an accident. It doesn’t matter if the other driver was negligent. If a liability insurer’s investigation proves you also acted negligently, they may be able to recover a percentage of their damages from you. If they pay accident-related claims, their subrogation rights allow them to recover those damages, as well. 

Liability insurers consider comparative negligence when evaluating claims. This allows them to reduce compensation based on negligence percentages. If they believe you were negligent, they may offer you reduced compensation. Here’s an example:

• Damages: $100,000.
• Less 20% negligence percentage: $20,000.
• Settlement: $80,000.

If a liability insurer believes the evidence proves you were more than 51% negligent, they will seek reimbursement of their driver’s damages and offer you nothing. 

What Should I Do if the Other Driver Is Uninsured in a Connecticut Motor Vehicle Accident?

It often takes days before you learn that the driver who caused an accident didn’t have valid insurance. If you purchased vehicle physical damage coverage, your insurer will pay your collision claim regardless of fault. Connecticut also requires that your insurer include other mandatory and optional coverages that benefit you when an accident injures you.

• Mandatory: Uninsured Motorist, Underinsured Motorist
• Optional: Underinsured Motorist Conversion, Medical Payments

UM, UIM, & UIM Conversion coverages pay based on the other driver’s liability. Your insurer investigates your claim, determines liability, and negotiates a settlement based on the other driver’s negligence. These coverages respond under specific circumstances. 

• Uninsured Motorist 
  • A driver causes an accident and leaves without identifying themselves. 
  • A driver causes an accident without coming into contact with an insured vehicle, and then leaves the scene unidentified.
  • Neither the negligent driver nor the vehicle owner had a liability policy or bond in effect when the accident occurred. 
  • The liability insurer declines coverage for the accident.
  • The liability insurance company becomes insolvent.

• Uninsured Motorist
  • The negligent driver had coverage but not enough to compensate you for your injuries. 

• Underinsured Motorist Conversion
  • Your UIM coverage applies but doesn’t fully compensate you for your injuries. UIM-C supplements your settlement to pay all of your damages up to its limit. 

These coverages seem overly complicated but an auto accident attorney understands how they work. Essentially, your own auto insurance company fills the role of both first-party and third-party insurer. 

Insurers don’t admit it, but this claim relationship produces a conflict of interest. They handle UIM, UIM, and UIM-C cases as a liability carrier, but they have contractual rights a liability insurer doesn’t have. You need a lawyer to protect your rights and resolve your claims fairly. 

How Long Do I Have to File a Motor Vehicle Accident Claim?

In Connecticut, you have two years from the date of an accident to settle your claim. If you fail to settle or file a lawsuit, you give up your right to make a claim.  

When you work with a motor vehicle accident law firm, they track your statute of limitation and other critical dates. Your lawyer can take appropriate action to protect your right to make a claim. 

Contact a Connecticut Motor Vehicle Accident Attorney

If a negligent driver injures you in an accident, you need a lawyer for motor vehicle accident complications. When you contact a law firm to schedule a consultation, you can discuss your accident without making a commitment. You can learn about your legal options and decide your next step when you’re ready.