You made a legal left turn, and another driver collided with your vehicle. Now, the insurance company is trying to place all the blame on you—simply because you were turning left. This automatic fault assumption is a frustrating tactic insurers use to minimize payouts, leaving innocent drivers to face thousands in damages they shouldn’t have to pay. It’s an injustice, and you don’t have to accept it.
At McCormick & Murphy P.C., we have over 60 years of combined legal experience challenging these unfair presumptions. Since 1995, we’ve recovered millions of dollars for Colorado clients who were wrongfully blamed for left-turn accidents. We know exactly how insurance companies operate and possess the specific strategies required to counter their tactics and secure the compensation you deserve.
The Evolving Challenge: AI-Driven Fault Assumptions
Insurance companies are continually refining their methods to avoid paying claims. By 2025, many are implementing artificial intelligence and machine learning systems to rapidly analyze accident data. While this technology aims for efficiency, it often leads to oversimplified fault determinations that prioritize the insurer’s bottom line over fair compensation for injured drivers.
These automated systems quickly process telematics data from connected vehicles, police reports, and accident scene photos. They make lightning-fast decisions about fault, but frequently lack the nuanced understanding necessary to properly evaluate complex accident scenarios. The outcome? Legitimate claims are denied or significantly reduced based on flawed algorithmic assumptions, leaving accident victims at a disadvantage.
Industry data shows that left-turn accidents make up approximately 22% of all intersection crashes. Yet, during initial claim reviews, insurance companies automatically assign fault to the turning driver in over 85% of these cases. This blanket presumption often ignores critical factors like excessive speeding by the oncoming driver, traffic signal violations, or hazardous road conditions that may have directly caused the accident.
Common Insurance Company Tactics We Help You Overcome
The Presumption Trap
Insurance adjusters are often trained to immediately assume the left-turning driver violated the right-of-way. They use this presumption to pressure you into accepting minimal settlements or deny your claim entirely. This tactic often succeeds because many drivers are unaware that numerous exceptions exist to the general right-of-way rule, and they don’t know how to challenge it effectively.
Comparative Fault Manipulation
Even when evidence clearly points to the other driver’s negligence, insurance companies will frequently argue that you share responsibility for the accident. They might claim you should have waited longer, looked more carefully, or acted differently to avoid the collision. Under Colorado’s comparative negligence laws, any fault assigned to you directly reduces your potential compensation, making this a powerful tactic to reduce their payout.
Digital Communication Snares
Initial claims intake increasingly relies on chatbots and automated phone systems. These systems are designed to record your statements and identify any comments that could be interpreted as admissions of fault. A simple, polite phrase like “I’m sorry this happened” can be twisted and used against you as an admission of responsibility, severely weakening your claim.
Telematics Data Misrepresentation
If your vehicle has connected car technology, insurers will request access to telematics data, which includes your speed, braking patterns, and other driving behaviors. While this data can sometimes support your case, insurance companies frequently present it selectively or in ways that support their predetermined fault conclusions, ignoring information that favors you.
Our Proven Strategies to Challenge Automatic Fault
When insurance companies rely on automated systems or biased adjusters to determine fault, you need an experienced legal team applying proven strategies. Here’s how McCormick & Murphy P.C. builds a strong case for you:
Immediate Evidence Preservation
The moments following your accident are crucial for building a defense against fault assumptions. We guide you through documenting everything at the scene, including photos of vehicle damage, skid marks, traffic signals, and road conditions. We help you collect contact information from all witnesses, as their testimony can be invaluable in challenging the insurance company’s version of events.
We work to obtain copies of all police reports and ensure they accurately reflect the accident circumstances. If the responding officer made errors or omitted important details, we collaborate with you to supplement the record with additional evidence and context.
Expert Accident Reconstruction
To counter automated fault determinations, we often bring in professional accident reconstruction specialists. These experts analyze physical evidence, vehicle damage patterns, and available telematics data to create an accurate, scientific picture of how the accident occurred. This independent analysis frequently uncovers factors that automated systems miss, such as the other driver’s excessive speed, failure to brake, or other contributing negligence.
Traffic Signal and Camera Evidence
Many intersections are equipped with traffic cameras or red-light enforcement systems that capture accident footage. This video evidence can be a game-changer in left-turn cases, clearly showing traffic signal timing, vehicle positions, and driver behaviors leading up to the crash. Because this footage is often deleted within days or weeks, our immediate action to secure it is essential for your case.
Strategic Witness Statements
Independent witnesses often provide some of the most powerful evidence in left-turn accident cases. Their objective observations about traffic signals, vehicle speeds, and driver behaviors can directly contradict insurance company assumptions. We work with you to properly document witness statements, prepare them for potential testimony, and ensure their accounts are heard.
Legal Exceptions That Shift Fault in Colorado
Colorado law recognizes several specific situations where the left-turning driver may not be at fault, even when struck by an oncoming vehicle. Understanding and applying these exceptions is fundamental to building a successful case against unfair blame. Our attorneys are experts in these details:
Oncoming Driver Violations
If the oncoming driver was speeding, ran a red light, or violated other traffic laws, they may bear primary responsibility for the accident. Speed limit violations are particularly common in left-turn crashes, as drivers often exceed safe speeds approaching intersections, making it impossible for a turning driver to safely clear the intersection.
Sudden Acceleration or Lane Changes
When an oncoming driver suddenly accelerates or changes lanes just before impact, the left-turning driver may have reasonably believed it was safe to proceed. These last-second, unpredictable maneuvers can make an otherwise safe left turn dangerous through no fault of the turning driver. We investigate these scenarios closely.
Obstructed Vision
Large vehicles, construction equipment, or other obstructions can block a left-turning driver’s view of oncoming traffic. If these conditions made it impossible to see approaching vehicles, fault may shift to other parties, including government entities responsible for intersection design or construction companies creating hazardous conditions.
The McCormick & Murphy Difference
Our Colorado Springs personal injury attorneys have developed and refined specific strategies for defeating insurance company tactics in left-turn accident cases. We understand how these companies think, the evidence they seek, and the counter-evidence needed to overcome their automatic fault assumptions.
Located at 929 W Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80905, our team has recovered millions of dollars for clients facing similar challenges. We know precisely which experts to consult, how to gather the most persuasive evidence, and when to push back aggressively against unfair settlement offers. We’re your local advocates, ready to fight for you.
Our approach includes immediate investigation of your accident scene, thorough consultation with reconstruction experts, and aggressive negotiation with insurance companies. We also meticulously prepare every case for trial, ensuring insurance companies understand we are ready to fight for full compensation in court if necessary. This preparation often leads to better settlement offers.
Your Immediate Next Steps After a Left-Turn Accident
If you’re facing automatic fault assumptions in a left-turn accident case, time is not on your side. Evidence can disappear, witnesses forget details, and insurance companies become more entrenched in their positions with each passing day. Protecting your rights starts now.
Avoid These Critical Mistakes
- Do not give recorded statements to insurance companies without legal representation.
- Never admit fault or apologize for the accident, even in casual conversation.
- Do not accept quick settlement offers before understanding the full extent of your damages and long-term needs.
- Avoid signing medical record releases or other documents without legal review from your attorney.
Take These Immediate Actions
- Contact an experienced personal injury attorney who specializes in left-turn accident cases without delay.
- Gather all documentation related to your accident and injuries, including photos, medical records, and police reports.
- Avoid discussing your case on social media or with anyone other than your attorney and medical providers.
- Follow all medical treatment recommendations and keep detailed records of all appointments and expenses.
Your Path to Fair Compensation and Justice
Insurance companies rely on drivers accepting their fault assumptions without challenge. They know that most people don’t fully understand their rights or the specific evidence needed to prove their case. This knowledge imbalance allows them to minimize payouts and protect their profits at your expense.
You do not have to accept their version of events. With proper legal representation and the right evidence, you can overcome automatic fault assumptions and recover the full compensation you deserve for your injuries, vehicle damage, lost wages, medical bills, and other losses.
Our proven track record of success in personal injury cases demonstrates our ability to achieve favorable outcomes even in challenging left-turn accident scenarios. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for your case. Your financial risk is eliminated.
Don’t Let Insurance Companies Win – Act Now
Every day you wait gives insurance companies more time to build their case against you. Their investigators are already working to find evidence supporting their fault assumptions. You need experienced advocates working just as hard, or harder, to protect your interests and secure your future.
Contact McCormick & Murphy P.C. today at (719)-389-0400 or email us at [email protected] for a free, no-obligation consultation about your left-turn accident case. We will thoroughly review the facts of your situation, explain your legal options clearly, and outline the specific strategies we will use to counter the insurance company’s tactics.
Don’t let automatic fault assumptions cost you the compensation and justice you deserve. Our experienced Colorado Springs legal team is ready to fight for your rights and hold insurance companies accountable for fair claim handling. Contact us now to start your journey toward justice and rightful compensation.
