After a car crash, people often hope that insurance can cover their costs. The driver at fault often provides liability coverage to offset collision costs. Sometimes collision expenses are astronomical and exceed the insurance coverage available. Other times, the driver at fault for the crash may not have insurance at all, even though the law requires it.
In either situation, it might be necessary to pursue a personal injury lawsuit. The courts can award damages to help cover medical expenses and property damage losses. People can even seek compensation for lost wages during their recovery and lost earning potential if they have permanent injuries.
The party responding to the car crash lawsuit is likely to mount a defense. In some cases, they may try to highlight the plaintiff’s contributions to the collision to reduce their own culpability. Connecticut has a modified comparative negligence statute on record. What does that mean for those filing a car crash lawsuit?
Fault can reduce compensation
Comparative negligence is a term that refers to each party’s degree of responsibility for an incident. If a drunk driver causes a crash with a sober motorist who failed to use their turn signal, both parties played a role in causing the wreck. Therefore, the modified comparative negligence law applies.
The courts may allocate a percentage of fault to both drivers. So long as the plaintiff is not more than 50% at fault for the collision, they have the right to proceed with the lawsuit. However, the degree of fault that the courts assign to them affects the amount of compensation that they receive.
The final award determined by the courts gets reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to the plaintiff. If they are 30% at fault for the collision because they did not use their turn signal, then they only receive 70% of the damages awarded after a successful lawsuit.
Even in scenarios where drivers make small mistakes that play a role in causing a crash, they do still have the right to request compensation from a party with the greater degree of fault. Reviewing the circumstances of a recent motor vehicle collision with a skilled legal team can help people assess their options for covering their crash expenses, including a personal injury lawsuit.
