If an accident occurs rarely is it ever easy to point a finger and say that one party was 100% at fault for the accident, usually both parties are at fault to different extents. In 1973 Florida adopted a comparative negligence statue that allowed parties to be held partially liable.
Before comparative negligence if a party was 95% at fault for running a stop sign at a 4-way stop and hitting a car with the right-of-way and the other party was 5% at fault for not using their blinker then the parties would be responsible for their own damages and no one would be held liable. That doesn’t seem fair! With comparative negligence more than one person can be found at fault and the parties would be awarded monetary recovery in accordance with their percentage of fault. For example if one party was determined 25% liable and the other party 75% liable then the injured party at 25% fault would receive 25% less in monetary recovery. So if the case were worth $10,000 the injured party would receive $7,500 rather than the full $10,000.
Remember, you can only settle your case once and retaining an experienced accident attorney can make all the difference. The earlier you contact an attorney regarding your claim the better. Call Platt Hopwood today to schedule a free consultation with an experienced accident attorney.
