When it comes to causation, some car accidents are black and white. One car runs a red light and smashes into another, a drunk driver crosses the center line and slams head-first into oncoming traffic, or a driver on their cell phone fails to recognize that the vehicle in front of them has slowed for traffic and collides with the back end of that vehicle. In these instances, a personal injury lawsuit can be straightforward, though there may be some evidentiary challenges and fighting over damages. In other instances, though, the cause of an accident is muddled.
This can be problematic given that our state recognizes comparative fault. This means that the amount of compensation awarded to you after your wreck can be reduced by the amount of fault allocated to you, and if you’re found to be more than 50% at fault, then you’ll be denied compensation altogether. So, if the cause of your accident is more complicated to determine, then you need to be ready to adequately defend yourself against allegations of comparative fault.
How can you protect yourself from accusations of comparative fault?
It can be stressful to think about how to defend yourself against these allegations, especially since you still need to focus on proving the other driver’s negligence and the extent of your damages. But here are some tips that you might find helpful as you navigate your personal injury claim:
- Attack the reliability of the defendant’s case: To try to sidestep liability, the defendant in your case might make outrageous accusations or simply mischaracterize the facts. If you don’t address these issues, then you could end up missing out on the compensation that you need and deserve. So, be sure to highlight any inconsistencies in the defense’s evidence and attack the credibility of the defense’s witnesses if it’s possible to do so. This can help reduce or even eliminate a showing of comparative fault.
- Rely on expert testimony: It’ll be hard for the judge or jury to figure out how to allocate fault if your case boils down to your word against the word of the defendant. To bolster your case, then, you can turn to expert testimony from someone like an accident reconstruction specialist. This can give the court and the jury unbiased scientific evidence that is perhaps more reliable in the jury’s eyes than anything that you say.
- Address comparativeness: Remember, your actions should be assessed in a light comparative to those actions of the defendant. So, even if you made a minor mistake, it may pale in comparison to those made by the defendant. The starker of a contrast you can draw here, the better positioned you’ll be to negate comparative negligence arguments.
- Anticipating the defense’s arguments: Before entering the legal arena, you should carefully think through your actions leading up to the wreck. By doing so, you’ll probably be able to identify areas where your case is vulnerable to attack. This analysis, then, will allow you to avoid surprises and give you the opportunity to adequately prepare for how to counter the defense’s arguments.
Advocate for the outcome you deserve from your personal injury case
Even if you made a mistake in the moments leading up to your car accident, don’t be afraid to pursue the legal action that’s warranted. After all, filing a personal injury claim may be the only way to recover the compensation you need to offset your losses. So, if you’ve been hurt in a crash and want to protect your interests as fully as possible, then now is the time to get to work building your case.