# Is There a Limit to Liability When You're At Fault in an Accident? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 7, 2025, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255 "2025-03-07T18:24:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/21 "2025-03-08T23:33:26Z")
This was my understanding - the insurance covers the car and damages to the other car. Personal goods hould be covered by homeowner’s insurance, and isn’t injury liability for car accidents a different amoun than damages? If it’s your own car, the special after-market add-ons like a fancy spoiler or turbochargerare also required to be declared whe you get insuance, otherwise they’re insuring the stock car. I recall one case where faulty cabin warmers (a thing in Canada) were causing fires. The insurance company said if it was bolted down, part of the car, then it was covered. Some people simply bolt them to a small plywood square and the insurance company said “that’s not part of the car, we don’t cover the fire damage.” I like to refer to the simplistic approach as “Kamikaze defense”. GO a head and sue, you won’t get enough to cover the lawyer’s bill… An option that disappears once you have decent equity in your house. IIRC a maor difference is that in Canada it is usual for the losing party to pay the winning party’s legal bill. Consequently, frivolous lawsuits (“How much will you pay us to go away?”) are less common in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/22 "2025-03-08T23:54:54Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > IIRC a maor difference is that in Canada it is usual for the losing party to pay the winning party’s legal bill. Consequently, frivolous lawsuits (“How much will you pay us to go away?”) are less common in Canada. Yes, this is the general rule, so a plaintiff who starts a lawsuit has to consider what the financial risk may be. That generally doesn’t exist in US civil litigation. The costs for an unsuccessful plaintiff can be waived by the courts in particular cases (eg public interest litigation). (And this is not a unique-to-Canada rule. Most common law countries have a similar costs rule. American lawyers call it the “English rule” as if it were something odd about English courts, when it’s generally the norm. The American courts are the outlier here.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/23 "2025-03-09T00:11:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’ve seen those personal injury attorneys advertising extensively in Connecticut and wherever I travel to. It’s very, very common in the United States. I travel extensively in the Midwest (Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana), as well as in Alabama, and I concur, both billboard advertising and television advertising for personal-injury law firms is extremely common in all of those. It’s seemed to have become even more common over the past decade, too. I regularly watch the evening newscast on a local independent station (WGN-TV in Chicago); there are at least five different such firms\* which are frequent advertisers on those newscasts. \*- I have never been involved in a lawsuit, but I can easily name all five, because their ads are so pervasive: Malman Law, Kenneth J. Allen, Lerner & Rowe, Aiken Law, Vrdolyak Law ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/24 "2025-03-09T00:26:02Z")
And I don’t recognize any of those as advertising elsewhere. Some of these firms advertise nationally but I don’t think those do. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/25 "2025-03-09T00:32:06Z")
Actually, does Lerner & Rowe advertise in Omaha? That one I recognize, mostly because it makes me think of Lerner & Loewe. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/26 "2025-03-09T00:41:14Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Actually, does Lerner & Rowe advertise in Omaha? That one I recognize, mostly because it makes me think of Lerner & Loewe I, too, think of Lerner & Lowe when I see their ads. AFAICT, they seem to be a franchise or chain operation, with offices in a number of cities and states. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/27 "2025-03-09T01:06:02Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Personal goods hould be covered by homeowner’s insurance, and isn’t injury liability for car accidents a different amoun than damages? In the US, you can have split limit policies - for example, the minimum coverage in my state is > - $10,000 for property damage for a single accident > - $25,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for death for a person involved in an accident > - $50,000 for bodily injury and $100,000 for death for two or more people in an accident but I have combined single limit insurance , which means my policy will cover up to $300K for any combination of bodily injury and property damage. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/28 "2025-03-09T01:50:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Lerner & Rowe Their website shows they practice in 10 states. Nebraska is not one of them. Illinois, Indiana and Colorado are the closest they get to Nebraska. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/29 "2025-03-09T02:05:52Z")
Trying to remember where I saw their commercials ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/30 "2025-03-10T06:19:56Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > This scenario is the background to the closing scene in one of the _Back to the Future_ films (I think the first one), where Marty (back in 1985) almost allows himself to be provoked into an illegal road race but decides not to, only to realise that if he had raced he’d have run into a Rolls-Royce. It’s Part Three. But not a great example as that Rolls either blew a stop sign or failed to yield the right away or both. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/31 "2025-03-10T16:29:12Z")
I think it’s implicit in the answers so far, but I thought I’d say it directly: legal liability and insurance limits are different things. The OP question is phrased in terms of limits on legal liability. Any limits on legal liability depend on the applicable law, not the limits of insurance coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/32 "2025-03-10T16:35:51Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > The OP question is phrased in terms of limits on legal liability. Any limits on legal liability depend on the applicable law, not the limits of insurance coverage. Bingo. An answer to my question has been provided and I’m appreciative of everyone who participated. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/33 "2025-03-10T17:08:29Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Bingo. An answer to my question has been provided and I’m appreciative of everyone who participated. So now can we bring up truckers that (attempt to) limit their liability by putting a sticker on their truck while haulin’ uncovered gravel? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/34 "2025-03-10T17:33:02Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So now can we bring up truckers that (attempt to) limit their liability by putting a sticker on their truck while haulin’ uncovered gravel? I’ve seen those. At least here in Arkansas, they’re responsible for anything that flies out of the back of their truck. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/35 "2025-03-10T18:40:18Z")
Responsible and _provably liable_ are two different things. I hope you’ve got a dashcam good enough to read their plate when that rock or mud comes off their truck and trashes your grille or windshield. Contributory negligence theory also applies unless prohibited by statute. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/36 "2025-03-10T18:51:47Z")
Here in RI, and also in NY, trucks owners are responsible for any damage caused by objects falling off of trucks or being kicked up by their tires. Commercial trucks are also required to have mudflaps to prevent rocks from being kicked up. In my limited experience among myself, family, and friends, the truck companies don’t contest reasonable claims. I think that’s because they don’t stand a chance in court and/or don’t want their insurance rates to increase from claims. Also, I’ve heard that MA requires auto comprehensive coverage of windshields, and maybe the rest of windows on a car. ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/37 "2025-03-11T16:10:49Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > As far as the expensive painting in the back seat I don’t think cargo is covered at all by the auto insurance. That falls under your homeowner insurance. Though there may be limits. My homeowner’s (actually renter’s) policy covers off-premises losses up to 10% of the policy maximum. So if I have a $100K policy, they will only cover $10K of off-premises losses. That’s fine for even a pretty expensive racing bicycle, or laptop computer. It’s simpler than a special rider for sports equipment or electronics because at least in my case the rider for sports equipment (usually meant to cover golf clubs, skis, etc.) requires appraisals and is depreciable, much like art work. Riders for other things like cameras, which can easily get close to that 10% limit, are simpler, cheaper, non-depreciable, and no-deductible. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Yes, this is the general rule, so a plaintiff who starts a lawsuit has to consider what the financial risk may be. That generally doesn’t exist in US civil litigation. The flip side of the “loser pays” system is that individuals and small businesses are less able to litigate against large corporations, even if the corporation is in the wrong, because of the threat of astronomical legal fees for losing. You’d think if it’s an open-and-shut case that there should be no issue, but the all-star team of high-priced lawyers has more capacity to steamroller you. > [@TriPolar](#): > > Also, I’ve heard that MA requires auto comprehensive coverage of windshields, and maybe the rest of windows on a car. There’s a [handful of states](https://www.policygenius.com/auto-insurance/which-states-have-zero-deductible-for-auto-glass/) that have varying levels of auto glass laws that require no-fault no-deductible replacements. Kentucky and Arizona are the most accommodating in that respect, covering pretty much all glass and even plastic on lights. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, South Carolina, and Florida in some cases require no-deductible coverage for windshields but not necessarily side windows or mirrors, or they allow but don’t require no-deductible coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2025, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/38 "2025-03-22T18:28:43Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Any limits on legal liability depend on the applicable law… If we were in law school (at least in America), we’d learn that the limit on legal liability is _foreseeability_. That’s the buzzword you want to argue : was it _foreseeable_ for the tortfeasor to anticipate the damage? (So, for the OP, it’s foreseeable that a driver might get into an accident with a really expensive car. So there is potential legal liability. But if that car exploded, and debris from the explosion broke a dam, flooding the local school, the driver may not be liable because a flood is not a foreseeable consequence of a car accident) ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2025, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/39 "2025-03-22T18:55:17Z")
> [@jjakucyk](#): > > My homeowner’s (actually renter’s) policy covers off-premises losses up to 10% of the policy maximum. So if I have a $100K policy, they will only cover $10K of off-premises losses. That’s fine for even a pretty expensive racing bicycle, or laptop computer. It’s simpler than a special rider for sports equipment or electronics because at least in my case the rider for sports equipment (usually meant to cover golf clubs, skis, etc.) requires appraisals and is depreciable, much like art work. Riders for other things like cameras, which can easily get close to that 10% limit, are simpler, cheaper, non-depreciable, and no-deductible. If I recall what my insurance agent told me, once upon a time in a galaxy far far away, there was a list of items that required separate appraisal on top of the homeowners’ insurance (on or off prem). Things like cameras or TV’s or laptops have obvious value. this model of laptop or camera or bike costs $X, you can look it up in a catalog - just need to document your ownership. It’s mainly the things that need appraisal - what’s your rare painting or jewelry worth? Much of that stuff cannot simply be looked up by model number. Receipts and appraisals are required. Certain things (your artwork, comic book collection, coin collection, fancy jewelry, etc.) not only need to be appraised, but may require added premiums in order to be covered. A common thing I see on the news, is renters without tenants’ insurance. The building owner has a fire, they can can repair the building with their insurance. But the tenant is outta luck. If the fire was the landlord’s fault, they might be able to recover from that insurance… eventually. (YMMV). But meanwhile, they have to look out for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2025, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255/40 "2025-03-22T19:37:48Z")
For everyone playing along, just to add to this foreseeability limit, another type of limit would be a cap on damages. A cap law would say, even if it was foreseeable and no matter how bad someone is hurt, damages are capped at $250,000. Generally these apply to medical malpractice claims or claims against a Gov’t; or punitive damages (ie, limits how much you can punish a defendant, but no limit on making whole the hurt person). Not in the OP car wreck scenario. \*the cap laws are more complicated than this since “damages” is a broad category and is usually broken down into components and those component damages can individually be capped or not. Punitive damage is just one component. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-limit-to-liability-when-youre-at-fault-in-an-accident/1015255.md?page=3)