Concertina Collision! Who is at fault?

A concertina collision is a collision commonly involving three or more vehicles in which one vehicle shunts in to another with such a force that the same vehicle is in turn forced into the one in front. It isn’t a scenario where Car 1 hits Car 2, and then Car 2 Hits Car 3 – it’s a collision where the force of being hit in the rear causes a vehicle to be pushed in to one in front.

Therefore, generally speaking, if you are the front or middle vehicle, you shouldn’t be at fault. As the middle vehicle, if you are stationary and you are hit in the rear and in turn pushed in to a car in front, you are not at fault. Your stationary vehicle has been pushed in to another – the driver that hit you is liable for damages for both you and the vehicle you have been forced in to.

In the same way, if you are the vehicle in front, it isn’t the guy behind you that you will need to claim from if he/she was pushed in to your vehicle – it’s the one at the end.

Liability in theory should be easy to resolve using the formula above. However, it may not always be easy to tell if a car was pushed in to another or if they simply hit someone in the back and were in turn rear ended by another vehicle. The driver at the front may have been aware that the driver in the middle was stationary, so their witness evidence could confirm this. But if they hadn’t noticed, it could be difficult to prove.

Witness evidence can be key in collisions like this. It’s probably worth calling the police at the scene to see if they need to attend as well.

So if you are the victim of a concertina collision, give us a call and we can represent you for a claim for personal injury compensation. Whiplash injuries from concertina collisions could be more severe as there may have been a double impact.