While some accidents involve situations where one party is clearly at fault, others are not so clear-cut. In such situations, it is crucial to understand how your own share of fault can affect your ability to recover compensation and to what extent. You should also know how insurance companies can take advantage of shared-fault situations.
To combat the challenges that these situations can raise, it is best to work with an experienced personal injury attorney. At Horton Personal Injury Lawyers, we have represented thousands of clients and collected millions of dollars in compensation for them. You can trust our knowledge and experience to guide you through this complex legal situation.
Situations Where Partial Fault May Arise
Partial fault can apply in various personal injury cases, including:
Car Accidents
Many car accidents are caused by two or more drivers who make dangerous decisions or tactics, such as:
- Running red lights or stop signs
- Failing to yield the right of way
- Speeding
- Engaging in distracted driving actions, including texting, talking on a cell phone, or talking to passengers
- Following too closely
- Drinking and driving
For example, an accident may occur when a driver turns left in front of another driver who was speeding. In such situations, the proportionate fault of each driver must be determined to assess whether a claimant can recover damages.
Truck Accidents
Motorists of passenger cars can make any of the mistakes identified above, but they may not realize that the truck driver or company shares in responsibility due to factors such as:
- Fatigued driving
- Overloaded cargo
- Shifting cargo
- Impaired driving
- Mechanical issues
- Failing to conduct inspections
A thorough investigation is often necessary to determine the underlying causes of truck accidents.
Motorcycle Accidents
Many motorcycle accidents occur because motor vehicle drivers fail to look for or notice the smaller stature of motorcyclists. However, motorcyclists may contribute to crashes by:
- Illegally lane splitting
- Speeding
- Over-braking
- Making cornering errors
- Driving while impaired
Pedestrian Accidents
Motorists must keep a vigilant lookout for pedestrians, but this does not remove pedestrians’ responsibility to follow pedestrian laws. Pedestrians can contribute to accidents by:
- Jaywalking
- Crossing against intersections
- Distracted driving
- Walking the wrong way on the road
Dog Bites
Dog owners have a responsibility to prevent their dog from biting others, but dog bite victims can be found partially responsible for attacks that occur because they are taunting the animal or otherwise provoking it.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Business customers or social guests might not notice signs or listen to warnings about dangerous conditions on the property that can contribute to accidents.
What Happens If You’re Partially at Fault for an Accident in Arkansas?
If you are partially at fault for an accident, this does not necessarily mean that you can’t sue for financial compensation (like it does in some other states). Arkansas’ modified comparative negligence law applies. Whether or not you can recover compensation – and how much – will depend on your degree of fault.
Judges advise Arkansas jurors in these situations to compare the percentages of the plaintiff’s and defendant’s negligence if they find that the accident was proximately caused by both parties’ negligence. If the jury determines that the plaintiff’s negligence is greater than the defendant’s, the plaintiff is not entitled to recover any damages. However, if the jury finds that the plaintiff’s negligence is less than the defendant’s, the plaintiff can recover damages, but the damages are reduced proportionately by their degree of fault.
Example of a Modified Comparative Negligence Case
Let’s take an example to demonstrate how Arkansas’ modified comparative negligence law can affect a case. Driver 1 is slightly distracted when Driver 2 hits them while speeding. Driver 1 sustains $100,000 in damages. The jury determines that Driver 1 is 20% at fault and Driver 2 is 80% at fault. Driver 1 can recover damages of only $80,000 since the other $20,000 is attributed to their own degree of fault.
However, if Driver 2 tried to sue in this situation and the case went to trial, Driver 2 would not be able to recover any compensation because they are more at fault than Driver 1.
How Insurance Companies Take Advantage of Partial Fault Accidents
Insurance companies love to use any excuse that they can to deny claims. Insurance adjusters are very familiar with comparative negligence laws and try to use them to their advantage to deny claims and minimize payouts.
They might try to argue that you were mostly at fault for the accident, even when this isn’t the case. If they convince you that you are primarily at fault or don’t have grounds for a personal injury case, you may abandon your claim. Worse, the other driver might try to sue you for the accident, which could put your personal assets at risk.
Even if it’s not plausible that you were mostly at fault for the accident, insurance companies may still try to use the modified comparative fault law to assign more blame to you than is fair. Remember, whatever percentage they can assign to you, the less money they have to pay. So, even if you were really only 10% at fault for the accident, the insurance company might try to claim that you were 30% at fault. This is just to protect their bottom line.
Evidence to Prove Fault
Since you can reasonably anticipate that the insurance company won’t treat the situation fairly, it will be on you and your personal injury lawyer to help prove fault. The evidence that your legal team presents will depend on the type of accident that you were injured in, but this could include the following:
- Accident reports: A law enforcement officer may have responded to the accident. They could have issued traffic citations or made a preliminary finding of fault.
- Videos of the accident: Video cameras are everywhere, from traffic cameras that record speeding and red-light running to helmet cameras and dash cameras. The accident or the moments leading up to it may be captured on film.
- Photos: While videos are an excellent source of evidence, they are not always available. Photos taken near the time of the accident can help show relevant conditions, such as road and weather conditions in car accident cases or the condition of the property in slip-and-fall cases.
- Maintenance records: Maintenance records can show whether the motorist or trucking company maintained their vehicle or whether a mechanical issue may have contributed to the accident. Maintenance records can also show whether businesses conducted routine inspections of the premises or if their failure to do so prevented them from finding a dangerous condition that they should have.
- Company records: Business and personnel records can help show if the company followed proper hiring and background check protocols or other ways that their negligence may have contributed to the accident.
- Toxicology reports: These reports can come in handy in cases involving drunk or drugged driving.
- Cell phone records: Your lawyer may be able to issue subpoenas to request cell phone records to show whether the other driver was talking, texting, or using data on their cell phone near the time of the accident.
- Telematic evidence: Black boxes in motor vehicles can record crucial information that can help demonstrate how accidents occurred, such as speed, GPS, and braking patterns.
- Witness statements: Witnesses can provide an objective opinion about how the accident occurred.
- Accident reconstruction expert witness testimony: Personal injury lawyers sometimes hire accident reconstructionists to create visual representations of how the accident occurred.
What You Should Do If You Are Involved in an Accident Where You Believe You Shared Fault
The most important thing that you should do is to recognize that you don’t know what you don’t know. You might think that you did something, but the other driver could have been drunk, drugged, or tired. Let the investigators do their job to determine how the accident occurred.
Don’t admit fault at the scene of the accident to law enforcement officers or to anyone else. You can share your concerns with your personal injury lawyer, who will know the best way to handle this common situation. But anything you say such as, “I’m sorry” or “It’s my fault,” can be construed as an admission of fault and used against you.
How an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Can Help in Shared Fault Scenarios
Experienced personal injury attorneys anticipate the tactics of insurance companies and can help combat them. They can help in these situations by:
- Explaining your legal rights and clearing up any misunderstandings caused by the insurance adjusters’ comments
- Handling communication with insurance companies on your behalf so that you don’t say or do anything that could heighten the degree of fault attributed to you
- Conducting a thorough investigation to prove the other driver was mostly at fault, which might include:
- Taking pictures or videos of the accident scene and the damage to all involved vehicles
- Reviewing accident reports
- Interviewing witnesses and first responders
- Working with accident reconstruction experts who can use physical evidence like skid marks and event data recorder telematics to recreate how the accident occurred
- Identifying all forms of damages to maximize your potential recovery
- Negotiating with insurance companies for fair compensation
- Taking the case to court when the insurance company fails to offer a fair settlement
Call Horton Personal Injury Lawyers today to learn more about how we can help in these types of cases.
Contact Our Personal Injury Lawyers for Legal Assistance and Representation
If you were injured in an accident where you know or suspect that you were partially at fault, you should reach out to an experienced personal injury lawyer for support. Horton Personal Injury Lawyers can handle every aspect of your legal claim while you focus on your recovery. Contact us today for your free consultation.