Auto Insurance Claims: Intersection Accident, intersection accident, minor damages

Question
My son was approaching an intersection, he stopped to look for oncoming car to make a left turn.  He saw the car at a distance and thought it was safe to make the left turn.  As he was making the left turn, the car sped and hit him.  The car must have been speeding because it pushed my son's car off the road onto a lampost. My son was trapped in the car and had to climb out through the broken window.  The other car had minor damages but the airbag went off.  Would the insurance considered my son at fault even if the other car was speeding?  Do they also take in consideration the damages of the cars to determine who's at fault?

Answer
Hi Abe,

The person with the stop sign has the greatest duty to be sure they can enter the roadway safely.  The other driver may have contributed to the collision by speeding. In situations like these the liability decision will likely be split. Perhaps 50/50 or 70/30 with the most liability placed on your son. It would be helpful if there were witnessess that could say the other driver was speeding or if there were skid marks that could be measured to determine the speed of the oncomming car.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh