Comparative Fault

Everyone has a responsibility to care for themselves. California law analyzes the relative fault of each party involved in an event that produces injury. The Dolan Law Firm works hard to demonstrate that you are not the one responsible for your injury. If your case does not settle before trial, a jury decides what percentage of fault is assigned to each party. (They do it after determining the amount of damages suffered.) If the person injured (the plaintiff) causes his or her own injury, and is 100% at fault and have no right to recover against anyone else involved in the event. If the other party, (the defendant) is 100% at fault, then they bear 100% of the responsibility and, 100% of the costs and damages . If there is shared fault California Law requires that the amount of recovery which the injured party is entitled to is reduced by their percentage of fault. Defendants in a lawsuit are always looking to place blame on the injured party to reduce the amount of compensation that they would have to pay. A great deal of time in any legal proceeding is spent establishing who bears what percentage of fault. California is a pure comparative fault state. This means that an injured party can recover for their damages even if they are greater than 50% at fault (51%-99%). Some states do not allow injured parties to recover if they are more than 50% at fault. The reality, however, is that fault is not a science and juries, when they the plaintiff as being mostly responsible, often give them nothing. Likewise, they often place some blame on the plaintiff just to appease some members of the jury so as to reach a consensus.

THINGS THAT MAKE AN INJURED PARTY AT FAULT

• speed- most common
• no seat belt
• failure to signal
• going through yellow light
• inattention- cell phone distraction- not looking where you are going
• improper safety gear (motorcycles and bicycles)
• lack of visibility
• running into street (pedestrians)
• crossing at a location outside crosswalk (pedestrians)
• entering a crosswalk on red hand

Contact The Dolan Law Firm for a free case evaluation.