Determining Fault in a Car Accident Injury Claim

Fault is undoubtedly one of the most important elements in car accident claims, if not the most important. If you cannot prove that the other person caused the accident, and in particular that they were negligent in so doing, you will not be successful in your claim. Some accident claims are clear-cut: it is evident at an early stage where the blame lies and therefore which party should pay damages to the other side. However, if it is not evident which party is more at fault than the other, or the extent to which each party was negligent is in dispute, it is up to the insurer to decide who was most at fault in terms of the accident. Ultimately, this may be a matter for the court to decide.

State Provisions

Some states do not allow a party to an accident who is even only slightly to blame to make a claim for damages for injuries suffered. These are AL, DC, MD, NC and VA. With these exceptions most states allow for cases to be determined on the basis of ‘comparative negligence.’ This means that if more than one party has contributed to the accident (i.e. it is, to a certain extent both their faults) then they will both be entitled to recover some damages.

States deal with this situation in various ways, which are outlined below:

Being at Majority Fault

In some states, if you are more than 51% at fault for the accident, you cannot file a claim to recover damages based on the other driver’s negligence. Therefore, if you suffer injuries in an accident for which you are 60% to blame, you will not be able to claim damages for those injuries, even if you are more seriously injured than the other party. These are: CT, DE, HI, IL, IN, IA, MA, MI, MN, MT, NV, NH, NJ, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, VT, WI, WY.

Being at Equal or Less Fault

Other states allow a 50% fault level to apply in relation to accident claims. If a person is less than 50% to blame, they will be entitled to claim for damages. However, if two parties are equally at fault, or take more of the blame than the other party, they will not be entitled to claim anything. The states that adopt this method of blame apportionment are: AR, CO, GA, ID, KS, ME, NE, ND, OK, TN, UT, WV.

Pure Comparative Fault

Finally, there are some states that adopt a purely percentile approach called ‘pure comparative fault.’ What this means is that payments for damages will be made in terms of the percentage of fault, regardless of what that percentage is. If you are involved in an accident and the injuries sustained would ordinarily entitle you to $15,000, but you are 75% to blame, you would only be entitled to claim $3750 in damages. The states that use this method of calculating damages are: AL, AZ, CA, FL, KY, LA, MS, MO, NM, NY, RI, SD, WA.

If you have been involved in a car accident and are unsure of your rights to damages in your state, speak to an accident lawyer today.