Bernard Tully Personal Injury Lawyer. Phone: 412-281-8700
Our clients often ask us the following question, “Can I still get money in my injury case if I am 50% at fault?” Yes, you can, but an important legal concept will be triggered under such circumstances, specifically, comparative negligence. Let us talk about the comparative negligence benefits.
Comparative Negligence Benefits
Overall, comparative negligence aims to achieve a more balanced and equitable distribution of liability, ensuring that parties are held accountable for their respective roles in an accident or incident.
Normally, a comparative negligence case arises with a slip-and-fall accident. Let us say you fell on the sidewalk because the pavement was higher than the rest of the sidewalk. The jury must decide whether the defendant is at fault for not maintaining the sidewalk. More importantly, even if the jury does find that the defendant was at fault, they then must decide what percentage of fault the defendant should be assigned as compared to you. The defendant MUST be at least 50% at fault for you to recover money.
Let us say that the jury finds that the defendant should have repaired the sidewalk prior to your fall, but that the plaintiff should have been paying attention and seen the defect in the sidewalk, and as a result the jury concludes both the defendant and plaintiff were 50% at fault.
If you are awarded $100 by the jury for your pain and suffering, but you were found to be 50% at fault for causing your own accident, your award will be REDUCED by the percentage you are found to be at fault for causing your own fall. So, instead of receiving $100 you would only receive $50 because your award was reduced. If you were found to be 25% at fault, you would receive $75.
Bernard Tully specializes in all types of cases including auto accident and injury cases, but we use the same philosophy for whatever type of case it is. We care about you, and it only takes 30 seconds to find that out by calling us.
Our main focus is honesty. We always preach it. We are passionate about trying to help any injured person or family member with their case. Questions about the blog? CALL US!
Bernard Tully Allegheny County Comparative Negligence Attorney. Phone: 412-281-8700 and 1-800-518-0050