Can I still pursue compensation if I was partially at fault for my injuries?
Get Facts From Phoenix Injury Attorneys:
Arizona is a state of Comparative Negligence.This means that if some else caused your injuries, you can pursue a claim against them. However, the value of your claim could be reduced by the percentage that your own negligence might have contributed to the car accident and/or your injuries or damages.
Your potential comparative negligence can apply in a number of ways.
Your comparative negligence might have contributed to the accident itself. Some examples follow:
a) You hit the car ahead of you before you are rear-ended from behind;
b) Another car fails to yield the right of way while turning left at an intersection in violation of state statute, but you enter that same intersection a split second after your light cycles red;
c) As a bicyclist, you cross a driveway or enter a crosswalk without making eye contact with a vehicle that is exiting the parking lot or turning at the intersection, so as to ensure they saw you and were yielding to you.
2. Your comparative negligence, although not a cause of the accident, could be a cause of your injuries. Some examples follow:
a) You are a motorcyclist or bicyclist injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, but you weren’t wearing a helmet and your injuries include head trauma;
b) You fail to wear a seatbelt as a motorist or passenger in a motor vehicle and your injuries include those not likely to have been suffered had you been belted (such as starring the windshield);
c) You suffer a tire failure but you knew your tires were old, bald and/or needed to be replaced but failed to do so before the accident.
Your comparative negligence could be in the form of failing to mitigate your own damages. Some examples follow:
3. Your comparative negligence could be in the form of failing to mitigate your own damages. Some examples follow:
Your comparative negligence could be in the form of failing to mitigate your own damages. Some examples follow:
a) The length of your treatment and recovery, and degree of your recovery, is adversely affected because you did not treat consistently with your doctors and/or had large gaps in your treatment;
b) You failed to timely remove your vehicle from a tow yard, thereby incurring unnecessary accrued storage charges.
These are just some examples and is not intended to be complete. The allegation of comparative negligence is an affirmative defense by the adverse party. Therefore it becomes their burden to prove your comparative negligence and the degree (percentage) by which it should reduce your recovery.
Depending upon the severity of your injuries and the degree of any comparative negligence on your part, you will find that many personal injury attorneys will still be willing to represent you against the adverse party/parties.