Personal Injury Law

Comparative negligence

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

In most Missouri car accidents, the liability insurance of the at fault driver will pay for the injured party's medical bills and other expenses. But what about cases where both drivers were at fault for an injury accident?

It's in these cases where comparative negligence may come into play. Different states have different rules about comparative negligence or comparative fault. In Missouri, there is a pure comparative negligence rule which means that the injured party may recover damages even if he was partially at fault, but those damages will be reduced by a percentage in proportion to his fault in the accident.

For example, a driver may have been injured in an accident where he is 50% at fault. If the damage award is $50,000, he will only receive $25,000. The same process would follow were he to have been 75%, 20%, or even 99% at fault for a serious car accident.

A real life example would be a car accident that occurs late on a foggy night. Driver 1 may have hit Driver 2's car, but Driver 2 didn't have his lights on. It could be argued that both drivers should share some of the fault for this incident

This is one reason why it's so important to be careful when talking to insurance companies. You may feel like you were at fault for an accident, but even if you were partially at fault, you may still be entitled to damages. Before you make any statements to an insurance company or sign any forms they offer, it may be a good idea to consult with a St. Louis personal injury attorney.

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on May 23, 2010 (boomark / email).