What If You Were Partially At Fault?

On this website, I’ve talked a lot about liability and fault. When someone else is at fault for your injuries, you can file a lawsuit against them and seek compensation. But what if you were at least partially at fault for your injuries? Are you solely liable for the accident? Will you be responsible for paying for your own injuries? I’ll discuss this situation in greater detail on this page.

Determining Fault and Negligence

On another page in this section, I discussed some common legal terms in personal injury cases such as fault, liability, and negligence. If you want to file a personal injury claim against someone else, you need to prove a few things.

First, you need to prove that the at fault party had a care of duty to keep you safe. Then, you need to prove that they breached this duty through negligent action. Finally, you need to prove that the other party’s negligence directly caused or contributed to your injuries.

If you can prove all of these things, you can file a personal injury case against the other party, and you have a good chance of recovering damages.

Your Role in the Accident

If you contributed to the accident that caused your injury, you can be found at fault for the accident and subsequent injuries. However, this does not mean that you cannot recover damages from the other party. If you are partially at fault, but you can still prove that another party contributed to your injuries, you still have a case.

For example, let’s say that you were running late and trying to get into an elevator when the door was closing. You put your hand in the door, knowing that there is a sensor that will pop the doors back open and let you in. But, this sensor isn’t working, so the door closes on your arm and breaks it.

In this particular situation, you are responsible for endangering your arm by knowingly putting it into the pathway of closing doors. But, the accident occurred because the elevator doors were faulty. This could be the fault of the manufacturer, installation team, maintenance team, or the elevator owner. So one of those parties is partially at fault for your injuries.

Getting Compensation

If you are partially at fault for an injury, it is a good idea to contact an attorney. Every situation is different, and a lawyer can go over your situation with you to help you determine who is at fault. A lawyer can also help you determine if another party is enough at fault for you to file a personal injury lawsuit against them.

Filing such a lawsuit can mean that you recover damages for your injuries in the form of monetary compensation. However, it is important to keep in mind that if you are partially at fault for the accident, the other party will highlight this throughout the case. Ultimately, this might mean that you do not receive as much compensation as you would if you did not cause the accident at all. If you would like to review your situation with one of our lawyers, contact our office today!