Can I Still Pursue Compensation if I Received a Ticket After a Car Accident?

Getting a ticket doesn’t necessarily mean you have a weaker case or don’t deserve compensation if you’ve been injured in a car accident.

If you’ve recently been in a car accident, you may be worried about the costs associated with the wreck. You will likely experience a rise in insurance rates if you were at fault. But what about a ticket? Will you get a citation if you are in a car accident in St. Louis? And can you still pursue compensation if the other driver was partially at fault?

Not All Car Accidents Result In Traffic Tickets – Understanding The Basics

In a lot of cases, breaking a law or negligent driving can cause a traffic accident. However, sometimes, a car crash can happen just because of an accident. If no laws are broken, it’s possible that the police won’t cite either party.

For example, if you are driving on a very icy road, lose control of your car, and your car slides into a parked vehicle and damages it, the officer may not charge you with a citation – as long as no laws were broken. 

However, if there is reason to believe that you broke a traffic law and this caused the accident, you may get a ticket. In the above situation, you could still get a ticket if: 

• Your tires were in bad condition and not adequate for the road conditions
• You were texting on your phone when you crashed your car
• You were driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• You were speeding when the wreck occurred
• You broke some other traffic law, such as going the wrong way on a one-way street

Basically, if you violated a traffic law as part of a car wreck – even if you were not at fault – you may be cited with a ticket by the police. If no laws were broken, you probably won’t get a ticket.

Getting a Ticket Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Pursue Compensation From The Other Party

People who get in an accident often think that they can’t get compensation for a crash if they get a traffic ticket. This is simply not true.

Getting a traffic ticket does not necessarily mean that you were at fault for the crash. This is a separate determination that will be made by the insurance companies or the court. 

For example, if you were speeding on the highway, but then were sideswiped by a drunk driver, both of you may be issued citations – but you clearly were not the person responsible for the crash, even if you were breaking a traffic law. You will likely be able to get compensation from the driver who caused the accident.

Get Help From a St. Louis Car Accident Attorney ASAP

Getting a ticket doesn’t necessarily mean you have a weaker case or don’t deserve compensation if you’ve been injured in a car accident. Get a free case review from an experienced car accident lawyer in St. Louis today. Even if you were issued a citation, you may be able to recover damages after a serious car accident.