First of all, don't be so sure you're at fault. It's hard to think clearly right after the trauma of a serious accident. And sometimes, the legal definition of fault is different from the one people use every day. An experienced accident lawyer can help you make that determination.
But if you know you're partly at fault for the accident, you can usually still recover damages. There are only five jurisdictions in the United States that stop plaintiffs from recovering any money at all if they're partly at fault: Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama. In those states, if a jury decides that you're even one percent at fault, you will not be able to collect damages. Thirteen other states allow all plaintiffs to recover, even if they're 99% at fault. In all of the other states, you will be barred from recovering if you are about half at fault. However, in all states that allow partial fault, the amount of money you can collect will be reduced in proportion to the amount of fault the court finds. That is, if the jury decides that you were 10% at fault for your accident, but awards you $100,000 in damages, your $100,000 will be reduced by 10% -- to $90,000. A good accident lawyer will know how to present your case in the strongest way possible.
|
