Following a devastating car accident or an injury at work, you are already worried about unpaid medical treatment and income loss. If the insurer decides you were also partially responsible for the losses, your compensation could be cut down significantly. This is the legal principle of comparative negligence, and it governs the amount of damages you are entitled to. A Salt Lake City personal injury lawyer will be extremely useful in explaining the ins and outs of these rules and helping you get the most out of your case.
What is Modified Comparative Negligence?
Modified comparative negligence is a system used by Utah to determine liability when two or more parties are at fault for an accident. The state, in particular, adopts a very rigid 50% rule. Only if your fault is 49% or less, you will be able to get compensation. On the other hand, if a jury or an insurance adjuster finds out that you are 50% or more responsible for the accident, you will not get any compensation at all.
How Shared Fault Changes Your Car Accident Settlement
Even if your share of the fault is less than 50%, your compensation will still be affected proportionally. Just imagine that your car gets hit from behind really badly, but at the same time, you had a taillight that was not working. The insurance adjuster might consider that you had 20% of the blame for the accident. And if the medical and property damage costs reach $100,000, the 20% fault will reduce the compensation to $80,000. Since these percentages have a direct impact on your bottom line, having a Salt Lake City personal injury lawyer to dispute an unfair fault attribution is a must.
Protecting Your Personal Injury Claim After a Crash
What you do right after a crash can have a major impact on the strength of your case and help in avoiding shared fault claims.
- Get Medical Help: Even if you do not feel any pain at the moment, it is wise to see a doctor in order to document your injuries for the future.
- Make a Police Report: When you call the police, it results in an official record of the accident.
- Collect Evidence: Take the close-ups of the accident scene, damage to the vehicles involved, and road conditions.
- Be cautious when making recorded statements: Adjusters have a knack for exploiting your words by blaming you.
- Get a Lawyer: Reach out to an experienced and trusted Salt Lake City personal injury lawyer before you consider signing any settlement papers.
Fighting Back Against Insurance Companies
One of the ways by which insurance companies try to shift responsibilities and blame is by pulling recorded statements out of you and then twisting your words. The lawyer who is dedicated to your personal injury case in Salt Lake City can show you the right way to deal with these kinds of unfair and aggressive attitudes. They obtain police reports, review traffic camera footage, and bring in accident reconstruction specialists; all are used to demonstrate the other driver’s fault. By presenting a strong case, a dependable personal injury lawyer in Salt Lake City will ensure that the victim is not the one who suffers loss due to the negligence of the other party.
Secure the Compensation You Deserve
It is in your hands whether you will take on the insurance companies alone or let them continue to push you around while you are already dealing with recovering from your serious injury. Modified comparative negligence laws in Utah require a lawyer’s legal knowledge and negotiating skills. By consulting an experienced Salt Lake City personal injury lawyer, you will increase your chances not only of minimizing your fault percentage but also of maximizing your monetary recovery. Besides that, most lawyers operate on a contingency fee basis, which means that you are not obliged to pay anything if you do not win your case. Start building your claim, get a free consultation with your attorney today, and take control over your life once again.