Disputing an Injury Claim Brought by an At-Fault Driver

Attorney Answer

If you have auto insurance, this is mostly not your decision to make. Your insurer handles claims brought against you under the policy, decides whether to settle within its limits, and pays for the lawyer who defends you. And the harder truth first: the fact that she caused the crash, even while impaired, does not extinguish her claim against you. In California it reduces it.

The liability standard is Cal. Civ. Code § 1714(a) — everyone is responsible for an injury occasioned to another by a want of ordinary care, except so far as the injured person brought the injury on themselves by their own want of ordinary care. That last clause is where California's pure comparative system comes from. In Daly v. General Motors Corp., 20 Cal. 3d 725 (1978), the California Supreme Court reaffirmed it: responsibility is assigned in proportion to each party's negligence, and an injured person's recovery is reduced only to the extent that their own lack of reasonable care contributed to the injury. So if she is found mostly at fault and you are found partly at fault, she still recovers the remaining share. Being the more blameworthy driver is not a bar in this state.

There is a provision that can cut much deeper, but it has a specific trigger. Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.4(a) bars a person from recovering non-economic losses — pain and suffering — where they were convicted of driving under the influence in connection with the accident, and in certain uninsured-driver situations. The trigger is a conviction, not a suspicion. A smell in a car is not a conviction, and it may never become one. Whether any impaired-driving case exists is worth finding out, because if it does the value of her claim changes substantially.

What actually happens if the offer is refused: the claim does not disappear. She can file suit, generally within the two-year period below, and the case is then litigated and decided on evidence rather than on either side's view of who was worse. The real risk to you personally is a judgment above your policy limits, because your insurer's obligation stops at the limits and the excess is yours. That is why the decision to reject a demand is one to make with your insurer, in writing, and with your own lawyer if the exposure is real.

What you can do

1. Tell your insurer in writing that you dispute liability, and ask them to investigate whether any impaired-driving citation, arrest or charge came out of this crash. Discuss the details with the defense lawyer they assign rather than circulating a written account of your own.

2. Ask your insurer to confirm your policy limits in writing and to notify you of every demand and offer, including whether any demand is within limits.

3. Request the traffic collision report from the agency that responded, and keep it.

4. Preserve what already exists — photographs, the claim numbers, any texts or emails, and the contact details of any witness.

5. Do not contact her or her insurer directly, and do not sign or reject anything on your own while your insurer is handling the claim.

6. If the demand approaches or exceeds your limits, ask a local attorney about retaining your own counsel alongside the insurer's.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who practices in your area is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 generally gives an injured person two years to bring a claim for injury or death, which is the period she would have to file suit if the claim is not settled. Where that period stands depends on the actual dates and on circumstances a page cannot see. Have a local attorney review the dates with your insurer rather than assuming a refused offer ends the matter.