You Are Partially to Blame for an Accident. How Can This Affect Your Case?
Big or small, car accidents are always stressful. In serious cases, you have to deal with the fallout from the wreck. There are medical bills to pay, insurance claims to make and to make matters worse, you may suffer from fear or anxiety around vehicles. With everything that you’re dealing with, there are no doubt a lot of questions that you have. If you have a case against the other driver, you may want to take into consideration any fault that you have. If you are partially to blame for an accident, it can affect your case.
Contributory Negligence
In contributory negligence, if there are two parties at fault, then no one can recover damages. This is pure contributory negligence, but fortunately, it is rarely used in modern law. Instead, most states will use a proportional form to establish fault. This means that if you are partially to blame, your legal recovery will be reduced, but you are not banned from recovering anything.
Comparative Negligence
In comparative negligence, the injured party recovers damages that he or she did not cause. The recovery ends up reduced by the percentage that represents fault. Now, most states require one person to be more than 51 percent at fault in order to recover any damages. If you were partially to blame, then you will most likely have to accept a percentage of the award you would receive if you weren’t at fault. Before your case, make sure that you have evidence that proves fault in the accident. The more evidence that you have, the more likely you are to receive your claim.
No-Fault States
In a no-fault state, the driver carries personal injury protection. This means that in these states, each driver’s insurance policy pays medical expenses up to an agreed on limit. When it comes to property, however, it is still fault-based. This means that for property damage, you will still have to decide fault.
Personal Injury Protection
Who is to blame will affect your case. While it doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t have any coverage for your injuries, you do have to pay special attention to fault. If you are partially to blame, do not hide any of this information from your lawyer. It’s easier for your lawyer to fight for you if he or she has all of the information and that includes your partial blame. For more information on navigating the car accident trial, visit one of the Auto Accident Lawyers Indianapolis, IN residents trust.
Thanks to Ward & Ward Law Firm for their insight into car accident claims and how being partially to blame for the accident can affect your claim.