If you are in an accident, you are a victim. And as a victim, it is hard to imagine that you could be blamed for the accident, or for your own injuries. But that’s exactly what many defendants do in personal injury cases. Not only do they blame the victim for causing the accident, in full or in part, but they are legally allowed to do so—and if a jury believes the Defendant enough, it could forever bar you from recovering damages in your accident.
How You Get Blamed
Defendants will look at your behavior as a victim at the time of the accident, and second guess what you did or what you didn’t do. Some common examples may be:
- If you were a pedestrian hit by a car, they will say you did not look for oncoming traffic, or that you crossed somewhere you shouldn’t have crossed
- If you fell in a store, they will say that you should have seen whatever it is that you fell on
- If you were attacked in someone’s parking lot, they will say you shouldn’t have been there, or else, that you did not do things that would have made you safer or less prone to being attacked
- If you were in any kind of accident, they will say that you didn’t follow your doctor’s orders, or that you didn’t see the correct doctors
Some of these defenses are legitimate, but many are not, and Defendants tend to throw them out in every case, no matter what. But no matter how silly or frivolous, you still need to defend against these claims.
Why Comparative Fault Matters
At trial, a jury can assign you a percentage of guilt, fault, or liability for your own injury. Whatever percentage they assigned you, is subtracted from your total jury verdict.
So, if your total verdict was $100,000, and the jury found you 10% liable, you would only get $90,000.
You may say, who cares, go to trial, and as long as the Defendant is somewhat liable, to some percentage, you will at least recover some sum as compensation. But it doesn’t work like that.
That’s because the real pain pill is that if you are more than 50% responsible for your injuries or your accident, you get nothing. So, if the verdict was $1 million, and you were 51% responsible for the accident, you would recover zero dollars.
In cases where there is some indication that you may be responsible for your own accident, you can see why proving this to just 51% of the evidence, can lead to a big verdict for the Defendant.
This rule only applies in negligence cases. It does not apply in cases where there is strict liability, or where there is an intentional act that caused an injury.
