In any personal injury case, the most vital factor is establishment of liability for the accident, which resulted in injuries to victim. As such, if you want to claim compensation then it will be necessary to prove that it was the fault of the other entity because of which you had to suffer injuries. In the following sections we will look at importance of establishing liability, what is comparative negligence law and how it works.
Importance of Establishing Liability in an Accident
Establishing liability depends on the case and can be easier to do in some than in other cases. For example, if the driver was distracted while talking on the phone then establishing liability for a personal injury lawyer in Tacoma will be a straightforward task whereas, it will be a difficult endeavor when the car hits a pedestrian on a rainy evening right outside the marked cross walk.
Intricacies of Comparative Negligence Law
Where a liability is shared by several parties, comparative negligence or fault law comes into play. According to this law, there is no particular threshold related to fault, which a claimant has to meet before the person can bring in a claim.
Thus, both parties can be considered responsible for the accident and a certain percentage of the fault can be assigned to both parties. For instance, if you get involved in a car accident and the other driver was responsible for the accident. But, if it is found that you were also speeding, then you will have partial responsibility in the accident and will be blamed for the same.
Similarly, you may fall down a stairwell on another person’s property and get injured. However, if it is found that you were running down from stairs then the court will hold you partially responsible for the accident.
How comparative negligence law works?
Comparative negligence laws tend to be more amiable for those victims who share some part of the blame during an accident. However, the law also constrains the percentage of damage that can be claimed by the victim based on the part the victim played in the accident.
For instance, Party X and Party Y were involved in an accident and due to their negligence, you got injured. The final damage amount was calculated to be $200,000 and Party A’s responsibility in the accident was calculated to be 25% and 75% for Party B.
As per comparative negligence law, both the parties are responsible for their share of the damage as finalized by the judge, if trial takes place without a jury.
Types of Comparative Negligence
Pure Contributory Negligence | Pure Comparative Negligence | Modified Comparative Negligence | Modified Comparative Negligence with 51% Bar
Pure Contributory Negligence: Here, judge takes a decision about percentage of responsibility that the victim will have. The overall damages that victim can recover is determined by evaluating this percentage.
For instance, if judge finds that 25% of the fault was of victim then he or she will be entitled to get only 75% of the damages.
Pure Comparative Negligence: In case a person has directly contributed to his or her own injuries then they cannot collect any damages for losses and injuries they have incurred. For example, if a victim in a car accident is even one percent liable for his or her own injuries then the person will not be allowed to file a claim lawsuit against the driver who is at-fault.
Modified Comparative Negligence: In this type of comparative negligence, victim is allowed to claim compensation for damages if they have less than fifty percent responsibility for their own injuries.
Modified Comparative Negligence with 51% Bar: This is same as the above rule, but here the victim is allowed to get compensation if the person has less than or equal to fifty percent liability in the accident.
Role of a Lawyer
Your Tacoma personal injury attorney will be playing a crucial role in the lawsuit. It will your lawyer’s responsibility to prove negligence of the other party in the accident. In addition, the lawyer will have to take necessary steps to lower the percentage amount of fault that gets assigned to you.
Lawyer will be collecting evidence that will help in demonstrating other party’s negligence, which resulted in the accident and subsequent injuries. This way the lawyer will ensure that you get the maximum possible compensation. In addition, for proving your negligence, the lawyer will be reviewing all available details including:
- Photographs and video footage
- Accident reports
- Expert testimony
- Witness statements
A Final Note
As we can see there are many complexities to be looked into in comparative negligence law and by appointing Whalley Law Group you will feel assured that you will get proper representation in the case. Our injury lawyer in Tacoma will thoroughly analyze all the aspects of your case and take steps to make sure that you get the maximum compensation.
