Car crashes can generate numerous major expenses. Obviously, a collision may result in substantial damage to a vehicle. Drivers may need to either repair or completely replace their vehicles after collisions.
Additionally, the people in the vehicles are at risk of injury. They may have major medical expenses and possibly also lost wages to recover following a crash. All of those costs can add up quickly and may overwhelm the parties involved in the collision. Frequently, crash costs may exceed the amount of insurance coverage available. People may then need to consider filing a lawsuit.
Is it possible to file a personal injury lawsuit if there is evidence that the plaintiff contributed in some way to the crash in question?
Partial compensation may be available
Some people talk themselves out of taking legal action because they made a small mistake. Every driver involved in a crash can potentially play a minor role in the incident. Minor mistakes do not preclude compensation claims, especially when one party clearly has the majority of fault for the situation.
It is sometimes still possible to hold the other driver accountable despite sharing a degree of blame. The law allows people to pursue compensation through a lawsuit as long as they are less than 50% responsible for the crash that occurred. The courts may reduce the final compensation awarded based on a plaintiff’s personal degree of fault for the crash. They may only receive 80% of the amount awarded to them if the courts declare them 20% at fault for the crash, for example.
Allocation of fault in such a detailed matter is not automatically part of the litigation process. The defendant generally needs to assert that the plaintiff contributed to the crash. The burden of proof to establish that there were secondary traffic mistakes made by the plaintiff falls to the defendant in such cases. They can also pursue lawsuits of their own if there are other parties with partial fault for the crash as a means of mitigating the losses they incur due to a lawsuit.
Pursuing personal injury compensation is often still a worthwhile undertaking even when the party seeking compensation is partially to blame for their own harm. Discussing the circumstances of a crash with a skilled legal team can help people evaluate their options for compensation when they have major expenses.
