The insurance companies involved in the claims process should determine fault in an accident such as this. They may look at the car's damages and take both your statement and the other driver's statement to determine who was at fault. It may be that one or both of you are found to be at fault.

Illinois has adopted modified comparative negligence (735 ILCS 5/2-1116) as the standard for recovery of damages. Under modified comparative negligence, an injured party may recover damages only if he/she is less than 50% at fault for the injury or damages. However, the recovered amount may be reduced in proportion to the degree that the injured party was at fault. For example, if the other driver is determined to be 80% at fault and you are determined to be 20% at fault, you can collect for your damages because you were less than 50% at fault. However, the other driver's insurance company might only offer to pay for 80% of your damages.

The IL Division of Insurance reiterates what we stated earlier, that the insurance company will make the injured party an offer based on what it believes to be the amount of negligence of its insured. The insurance company may interview the involved parties, including witnesses, and it may also review the accident report in order to determine the amount of the offer.

An insurance company may believe that its insured was not more than 50% or more at fault for an accident and may not offer to pay any damages for the loss, even if a ticket was issued. You, the injured party may negotiate with the insurance company until a settlement is reached or until the two parties reach an impasse. If a settlement cannot be reached, the courts make the final determination of comparative negligence since this type of law is a civil issue.