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Contributory Negligence and How It Can Ruin Your Case - Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer Info

Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp Personal Injury Lawyers (All We Do is Injury Law)
1.59K subscribers
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What is contributory negligence or fault, and how can it kill your personal injury case in Virginia or North Carolina? Our states are two of the only four states in the country that bar a personal injury claim if the victim contributes to causing their accident. We call this contributory negligence. If contributory negligence affects how the accident happened, the plaintiff (victim) contributed to their harm or injury, and Virginia and North Carolina bar any recovery in the case. If you have been injured in an accident, it is critical for a personal injury lawyer to evaluate whether you contributed to causing your injury. At Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp, we have been advocating for accident victims for more than 35 years and are dedicated to getting our clients the financial compensation they deserve for the losses they have suffered. Call our office at 833-997-1774 for a free and confidential consultation. What Does Contributory Negligence Mean? …...more
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Contributory Negligence and How It Can Ruin Your Case - Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer Info
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125Views
2016Jun 3
What is contributory negligence or fault, and how can it kill your personal injury case in Virginia or North Carolina? Our states are two of the only four states in the country that bar a personal injury claim if the victim contributes to causing their accident. We call this contributory negligence. If contributory negligence affects how the accident happened, the plaintiff (victim) contributed to their harm or injury, and Virginia and North Carolina bar any recovery in the case. If you have been injured in an accident, it is critical for a personal injury lawyer to evaluate whether you contributed to causing your injury. At Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp, we have been advocating for accident victims for more than 35 years and are dedicated to getting our clients the financial compensation they deserve for the losses they have suffered. Call our office at 833-997-1774 for a free and confidential consultation. What Does Contributory Negligence Mean? Contributory negligence means that if you are injured due to the negligence of another party but evidence shows you partially contributed to causing the accident (even as low as 1 percent), your claim for damages against the other party is completely barred from recovery. A good example of contributory negligence would be a scenario where you failed to signal when changing lanes and are rear-ended by a speeding motorist. While it would be true that the motorist, if not for their speeding, would not have hit you and was the proximate cause of your injury due to their breach of duty by disobeying traffic laws, you may not be able to recover from that party for your damages because you contributed to the accident. If this scenario occurred in a different state that uses comparative negligence, the outcome would be different. In comparative negligence jurisdictions, damages are apportioned by the amount of negligence. For example, let’s say there is $100,000 in damages from a personal injury caused by a car accident. A jury could find that a victim contributed 30 percent to the accident and reduce the damage award to 70 percent (meaning the plaintiff would still receive $70,000 in damages). Contributory negligence states do not allow such allocation of fault and reduction in damages. When Is Contributory Negligence Applied and When Is It Not? It is important to keep in mind that, to be barred from recovery, your negligence must have contributed to causing the accident and not merely making your injuries worse. A good example would be when a plaintiff, while intoxicated, obeys all of the rules of the road and is hit from the side when another party runs a red light. Even though the plaintiff was intoxicated, the plaintiff’s actions did not contribute to the accident (though this would be open to argument, and evidence would need to be introduced by witnesses, police reports, and personal accounts from both sides). The hairsplitting that can occur in contributory negligence law is another reason why you should seek the assistance of a personal injury attorney after a serious accident caused by another party. Trying to deal with the insurance company and their defense lawyers on your own is a recipe for disaster and will likely result in the insurance company making a low-ball offer on your claim. What Can Your Personal Injury Law Firm Do to Help? Being injured in a car accident can lead to significant physical, emotional, and financial challenges. Working with one of our seasoned car accident attorneys - who will navigate you through the complex legal landscape - will allow you to focus on your recovery while our firm pursues justice for the harm you have suffered. If the insurance company is trying to blame you for the crash, contact Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp. We’ll be happy to review your case and see whether or not it might merit punitive damages. We’ll discuss all the elements of proving a punitive damages DUI case with you and determine whether or not your case qualifies. Call us at 833-997-1774 to schedule a free consultation, and let us help you get the compensation you deserve. Find out more at https://www.hsinjurylaw.com.

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Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp Personal Injury Lawyers (All We Do is Injury Law)

1.59K subscribers