It is hard to establish exactly who was at fault in most personal injury cases. There may be times when you (the plaintiff) may be at fault. Sometimes, the plaintiff’s actions can cause his or her injuries and that can affect your case, and you’re about to find out why!
Who is at Fault in a Personal Injury Case?
The word fault means that someone was at fault, generally through an act of carelessness, and is responsible for paying the injured party money for all injuries and losses that result from the act of carelessness. The plaintiff can and often does win a civil award of several thousands of dollars if he or she sues the defendant in court.
What if Many Parties are at Fault?
There are times when many people are at fault for your personal injury accident. You may also be partially at fault for your own accident in this instance. You have shared fault in this case. You need to know what happens in this instance since it can and will influence the outcome of your case.
Contributory vs. Comparative Negligence
There are two rules that apply to shared fault cases:
Contributory Negligence – This rule states that you’re not entitled to a settlement at all if you’re even 1% at fault for your accident. It may be extreme, but a few American states follow it to the T.
Comparative Negligence – This type of negligence is a little different. Comparative negligence calculates the percent of fault that each party shares. Here’s a good example of this. Suppose you were in a car accident. You ran a stop sign and the other driver ran a red light. You’re both guilty to a certain extent in this instance.
You can collect damages under this rule. It’s just that your final settlement would be reduced by the percentage of your fault. For example, you would only get a $60,000 settlement if your final settlement was $100,000 and you were found to be 40% at fault.
Pure Comparative Fault vs. Modified Comparative Fault
If you live in a modified comparative fault state, you can only collect damages as long as you were less than 50% at fault for the accident. You can’t collect anything if you were 51% at fault for the accident, for example.
Share Blame in and out of Court
You’ll probably be dealing exclusively with an insurance adjuster since most cases – shared fault or otherwise – are settled out of court. The insurance adjuster will keep the shared fault rules in mind when calculating your final settlement. It helps when your personal injury lawyer in Spruce Grove takes over the case and represents your rights. They work in your favor and help you get justice.