When an individual gets injured, it is not uncommon for them to quickly and quietly calculate what they could have done differently to avoid the accident. After a vehicle collision, a driver might worry that their actions directly or indirectly led to the crash. Were they speeding? Did they change lanes without signaling? Did they miss some sort of warning sign or dangerous traffic pattern?

In states that follow laws based on pure contributory negligence, an injured motorist could lose any entitlement based on monetary compensation. This means that if the court determines that the driver’s actions contributed in any way to the collision, even by a tiny factor, he or she will receive no monetary compensation. Fortunately, Florida follows comparative negligence laws.

Comparative negligence versus contributory negligence

Essentially, the legal concept of comparative negligence means that when there is a motor vehicle collision, multiple parties can share fault. After the wreck, the insurance adjusters will often rely on the concept of comparative negligence to reduce the value of various claims. It is not uncommon for the claims adjusters to find some level of fault in everyone’s actions.

Fortunately, in pure comparative negligence, the court treats a participant’s level of negligence as a percentage. At the conclusion of the personal injury case, the total monetary verdict is reduced by whatever factor the court deemed as the participant’s contribution to the collision. For example, if an individual’s actions were 10% of the reason for the collision, he or she will only recover 90% of the possible money in the claim. An experienced Florida attorney, though, can argue the “apportionment of fault” that ranges between the involved parties. This adjusts the percentages of fault and shields an injured individual’s compensation against a dramatic reduction.

Pure contributory negligence, as mentioned above, is a strict guideline that the legal systems in some states use to determine monetary compensation. If the court finds that an individual is even 1% at fault for the collision, he or she will likely recover no compensation based on the claim.

With a skilled Florida attorney, car crash victims can fight to receive the maximum recovery possible in their unique situation. Based on comparative negligence, a driver even somewhat at fault for the collision and his or her resultant injuries can potentially recover monetary compensation.