Although some car accidents are truly caused by one driver, a lot of them involve fault attributable to multiple motorists. This can complicate a determination of causation and liability, which means that it can make it difficult to prove your personal injury case. But you shouldn’t let that deter you from advocating for the closure and the compensation you need. Instead, you simply have to be prepared to address comparative negligence in your case.
What is comparative negligence?
Under Massachusetts law, a car accident victim can seek compensation from another motorist so long as they were not more at fault for the accident than the person from whom they’re seeking compensation.
The percentage of fault assigned to the victim will impact their financial recovery, as any judgment levied against the defendant will be reduced by the amount of fault allocated to the victim. So, if a $100,000 award is entered but the plaintiff is found to be 30% at fault, then the victim will win only $70,000.
As you can see, then, there’s a lot at stake when comparative negligence comes into play. If you don’t properly address the issue, then you could wind up without the compensation you need to fully treat your injuries and secure stability while you focus on your recovery. But what can you do to protect your interests when you’ve been implicated in the accident’s cause?
How to address comparative negligence in your personal injury case
Fortunately, there are some steps that you can take to try to curb comparative negligence arguments. Here are some of them:
- Stay off social media: You might think that social media is a great way to ease the burden you’re facing, but it can also give the defense evidence to use against you. If you inadvertently say something that appears to accept blame for your accident, then you could end up being assigned some fault for the wreck.
- Watch what you say to the insurance company: The defendant’s insurance company is probably going to reach out to you to discuss the accident. They’ll poke and prod to try to get information from you about the cause of the accident, so be careful with what you say so that your words won’t be used against you in a comparative negligence argument.
- Use an expert: If the cause of your accident is in question, then you might want to use an accident reconstruction expert who can help place the blame where it should fall. The defense might have its own expert witness, so you should be prepared to counter their opinion as to how you contributed to the wreck.
- Assess your actions: To anticipate the defense’s arguments, you need to think through your driving actions leading up to the accident. That way you’ll have time to think about how to mitigate their arguments and protect your ultimate recovery.
Fight to prevent comparative negligence from derailing your personal injury case
Aggressive comparative negligence arguments can devastate a personal injury case. That’s why you need to think through how you can reduce the power of the defense’s arguments in this regard. You’ll want to be comprehensive so that you protect your interests as fully as possible.
