Comparative fault rules can be confusing and frustrating. Even if comparative fault affects your injury settlement, we can work hard to mitigate its effect so you still get as much compensation as possible. We can also tell you if the defendant’s comparative fault arguments are baseless, helping you avoid accepting a bad settlement.
New York’s comparative fault rule states that plaintiffs are not barred from recovery, but their damages will be lowered proportionally to their negligence. The defendant may use this to justify low settlement offers and intimidate victims, thereby discouraging them from pursuing court action. While comparative fault rules might lower a plaintiff’s recovery somewhat, they may still hold the defendant mostly liable. This can yield a jury award that is still relatively large, even if damages can be reduced by a small percentage because of comparative fault.
You can call (718) 841-0083 to get a confidential and free case analysis from The Carrion Law Firm’s New York City personal injury lawyers.
Can Comparative Fault Affect Injury Settlements in NYC?
Like several other states, New York imposes a “pure comparative fault” rule. This rule sometimes comes into play during personal injury lawsuits where the defendant argues the plaintiff shares some degree of fault for an injury.
If the defendant believes they have evidence of your supposed negligence, they may try to leverage it during settlement negotiations to persuade you to accept a lower, worse offer. Under C.V.P. Law § 1411, the plaintiff’s damages are lowered proportionally to their percentage of liability. Defendants sometimes try to use this rule to convince plaintiffs to accept lowball settlements in case a jury award would yield even fewer damages once the jury applies comparative negligence rules.
New York’s pure comparative fault rules don’t bar recover for anyone who is partially to blame, even if they are largely to blame. Don’t assume you cannot file a lawsuit and recover some or most of the damages incurred because the defendant mentions potential implications of comparative fault, and contact our lawyers about your case.
Will Comparative Fault Affect Your Injury Settlement?
Comparative fault rules may not affect your injury settlement whatsoever. The defendant might not have enough evidence to support their arguments that you contributed to the accident at all, making them unable to prove comparative fault in court or use it against you to pay a lesser settlement.
Do not take what the defendant says at face value during settlement negotiations. Instead, let us discuss a settlement with their attorney. Our Brooklyn, NY personal injury lawyers can be upfront about the wealth of evidence we have that proves the defendant’s sole liability and disproves their comparative fault arguments.
Upon realizing that arguing comparative fault during a trial would be unsuccessful because of the eyewitness statements, photos, and even video footage we have, the defendant may agree to a much larger settlement.
To avoid unnecessary comparative fault issues to the best of your ability, be careful what you say directly after an accident or to others when discussing the incident. Even apologizing at the scene may be misconstrued as accepting liability, so do not say you are sorry to any other involved parties or the police if they respond.
What Evidence Stops Comparative Fault from Affecting Your Injury Settlement?
We may get evidence that stops comparative fault rules from unfairly affecting your injury settlement and lowering your recovered damages by too much.
Eyewitness Testimony
Eyewitnesses can testify about an accident. They may confirm what happened before, during, and after, and attest to each party’s actions. Eyewitnesses may easily disprove comparative fault arguments, allowing plaintiffs to receive full compensation for all damages.
Surveillance Footage
Surveillance footage is also key evidence in lawsuits threatened by comparative fault rules. Surveillance footage can prove you did not do anything reckless or negligent, but that the defendant was the sole party responsible. Alternatively, footage may show that your contribution to the accident was minimal, thereby proving that the defendant remains liable for most of your damages.
Accident Reconstruction
Accident reconstruction also helps us disprove comparative fault arguments or mitigate their effect on lawsuits. This is particularly useful after auto accidents, and lets us confirm the specific sequence of events. Accident reconstruction can establish each driver’s actions during a collision, including their direction of travel, speed, brake usage, and other crucial information.
We can reconstruct other personal injury incidents, too, to show how the defendant’s version of events holding you partially responsible does not make sense based on the available evidence.
Can You Get a Good Settlement if Comparative Fault Affects Your Lawsuit?
You may still get a very good settlement, even if comparative fault affects your case. Most likely, the defendant is still largely liable for your injuries and damages. Even if the jury were to attribute 20% of fault to you, the defendant would be liable for paying the remaining 80% of your damages. That amount may be larger than any low settlement the defendant has offered, which could be excused with comparative fault arguments, giving us plenty of room to negotiate.
Out-of-court settlements generally benefit defendants, so they may offer to give larger amounts to avoid a trial, even if comparative fault is somewhat at play. Plaintiffs generally do not get good settlement offers right away, whether or not comparative fault is an issue. Don’t accept the first offer you get, as it may not be enough.
You may still get most of your damages covered by a settlement affected by comparative fault, so you still seek compensation, even if you somewhat contributed to an accident in New York City.
Your conduct during an accident may be entirely unrelated to its cause, and we can help you get a good settlement even if the defendant argues you are partially at fault.
Call Our New York City Injury Attorneys About Your Case Today
You can call (718) 841-0083 for help with your case from The Carrion Law Firm’s Flatbush, NY personal injury lawyers.