Partial Fault Car Accident

Answer:

As a skilled Delaware County Car Accident Lawyer, clients come to me all the time with questions regarding compensation when they are partially at fault in an accident.

If you’ve been involved in an automobile accident in the State of Pennsylvania and believe you may be partially at fault, you are not entirely precluded or stopped from bringing a claim against the other party. The situation does however, work a little differently than in a straight accident where it’s clear the other party is entirely at fault.

In addressing partial fault, the Pennsylvania legislature has adopted the Pennsylvania Comparative Negligence Law. This law applies to automobile accidents and other types of negligence cases such as slip and falls, among other, in which someone has breached the duty of care and injured another party.

If the case ends up in court, there are two phases. The first phase is the liability phase and the second is the damages phase.

In the liability phase, you bring in all the evidence, your testimony, the other party’s testimony, and any witnesses, and you present your best case. You are, in effect, saying:

“I’m at fault a little bit or a percentage, but the other individual is also at fault.”

The jury (or the fact-finder, if it’s an arbitration case under $50,000) will listen to the evidence and make an assessment of percentages between the parties that are at fault.

If they think the plaintiff or the injured party has a partially responsibility, they will assign a percentage to that individual’s responsibility. If the defendant is responsible, they will assign a percentage to them. If there is more than one defendant, the percentage of responsibility between defendants will be divided up so that a total of 100% responsibility is represented between all parties on both sides of the claim. The fact finder, jury, or the arbitration panel will then assess a damages award for the victim’s injuries.

As a straightforward example, let’s say the award is valued at $100,000. If the jury has assessed that you are 20% responsible for the accident and the defendants, between them, are 80%, then your award will be reduced 20% to account for how much you were determined to be at fault. When 20% is taken away from the total value of $100,000, the net award would be $80,000.

If, however, the jury finds you 51% at fault, you are determined to be the cause of the accident and thus receive no compensation whatsoever. Even if the jury has determined the value of your damages is $100,000, if you’re found 51% or more responsible for the accident, your compensation will be zero. The case will be found in favor of the defendant and no compensation will be awarded to you.

This educational blog was brought to you by experienced Car Accident Attorney Walter J. Timby. Our law firm proudly represents clients throughout Delaware County, as well as Pennsylvania, the greater Philadelphia area, Delaware and New Jersey.

If you have any questions about compensation if your partially at fault in an accident, please contact our Delaware County Car Accident Lawyers for a free case evaluation. Let our knowledge work for you.