gentle-owl-4375/18/2026

Other driver got a ticket but her insurance still says my son is 25% at fault — how??

My son was rear-ended at a red light about eight months ago. The other driver was cited at the scene — officer even noted in the report that she was following too closely and failed to stop. Pretty open and shut, right?

Wrong. Her insurance company comes back and says they're accepting 75% liability for their driver and pinning 25% on my son. I genuinely cannot wrap my head around this. He was stopped at a red light. There is no universe where a stopped car is partially responsible for being rear-ended. When I pushed the adjuster on it, she gave me some vague answer about "contributing factors" and basically stonewalled me.

We're still fighting this out, but then something completely unexpected happened this week — my son got a letter from the county prosecutor's office asking him to document any losses, injuries, or expenses he's had because of the crash. Apparently they're looking at whether to pursue charges against the other driver.

I didn't even know that was a thing? Like, can a regular fender-bender (well, it wasn't that minor — his car was totaled and he had a neck injury) turn into a criminal matter? Has anyone ever gotten one of these letters or been through a situation where the DA's office got involved?

Also — does this change anything with the insurance dispute? Does the fact that prosecutors are sniffing around mean we have more leverage to push back on that ridiculous 25% figure?

Any insight from people who've been through something similar would mean a lot. This whole process has been exhausting and we just want it to be over.

8 replies

Most helpful first

tidy-wren-9005/18/2026
We got something similar after my husband's accident — a letter from the DA's office asking about his medical bills and lost wages. Honestly it scared us at first because we didn't understand it. Turns out the prosecutor was considering a reckless driving charge against the other driver. The civil insurance stuff and the criminal stuff run on totally separate tracks, but in our experience, once the other driver's insurance heard that prosecutors were involved, the tone of those calls shifted pretty noticeably. Hang in there.
clear-bison-9495/18/2026
So the criminal side and the civil/insurance side are completely separate legal processes — one doesn't automatically control the other. The prosecutor's office reaching out is basically them building a victim impact picture if they decide to move forward with charges. Your son doesn't have to respond, but it's generally in his interest to cooperate and document everything thoroughly — medical bills, missed work, any out-of-pocket costs.

As for the 25% thing: insurance companies do this all the time even when a ticket was issued, because a traffic citation isn't a legal finding of 100% fault in their eyes. Doesn't make it right, just explaining why they feel like they can do it.
wise-hare-5715/18/2026
That 25% number is a classic adjuster move. They throw a comparative fault number at you hoping you'll just accept a reduced payout and go away. Don't accept anything in writing without really thinking it through. Once you sign off on a settlement, that's usually it.
spry-marmot-3395/18/2026
I spent years on the inside and I can tell you that splitting fault even when their driver got a ticket is absolutely standard practice at a lot of carriers. The goal is to reduce the payout. They're betting that most claimants don't know to push back hard or get a lawyer involved. The moment an attorney enters the picture, the whole dynamic changes — suddenly those 'contributing factors' tend to disappear. Not saying you need one, just saying that's the reality of how it works.
- patient-otter-3895/18/2026
  Not legal advice, but I'll say this: a police citation can be used as evidence of fault in a civil claim, but insurers are not courts and they set their own liability determinations internally. The prosecutor's letter is a separate matter entirely — it means the state is considering whether a crime was committed, independent of what the insurance companies are doing. If your son cooperates with the prosecutor and charges are filed, any resulting conviction or plea could absolutely strengthen your position in the civil dispute. Worth talking to a PI attorney about the timing and strategy here.
plain-kestrel-8005/18/2026
Just want to make sure your son is still following up with his doctors for that neck injury. I've seen so many people let treatment slide while they're caught up in the legal and insurance stuff, and then their medical records show a gap that gets used against them later. Keep every appointment, keep every receipt, and make sure everything is documented in his chart.
- humble-dove-4605/18/2026
  This sounds so stressful, I'm sorry you're both going through it. Eight months of this with no resolution yet — that's exhausting. Wishing your son a full recovery and hoping this gets sorted out soon.
keen-grouse-5575/18/2026
Respond to the prosecutor's letter, document every single loss carefully, and stop negotiating with the other driver's insurance on your own. You're already at a disadvantage without representation. That's my honest take.