August 17, 2021 | Personal Injury
If a person sustains an injury caused by the careless or negligent actions of another individual, business, or entity, they should be able to recover compensation for their losses. However, the at-fault party in these cases will often put up various defenses in order to avoid paying full compensation. One of these defenses is to place some or all of the blame for the incident on the injury victim. However, comparative negligence laws in Indiana are written so that individuals may still be able to recover compensation even if they are partially at fault for causing their own injury. Here, we want to discuss how comparative negligence applies in an injury case.
In some cases, the fault for an injury will fall squarely onto one party. However, that is not always what happens. It is not uncommon for more than one party to share fault for an injury. However, that does not usually mean that the injury victim will be unable to recover compensation at all. There are various types of shared fault systems used throughout the US:
Modified comparative negligence and pure comparative negligence systems work to ensure fairness for all parties involved. Indiana operates under a modified comparative negligence system. This state adheres to a 51% rule, which means that a person will only be able to recover compensation if they are less than 51% responsible for the injury.
The total amount of compensation an Indiana personal injury victim recovers will be reduced based on their percentage of fault. For example, if a person is ultimately awarded $100,000 from an at-fault party because of their injury, but it is determined that they were 20% responsible for causing the injury, then they would receive $80,000 instead of the full $100,000.
If you or somebody you love has been injured as a result of the careless or negligent actions of someone else in Indiana, you need to work with a skilled lawyer as soon as possible. An accident injury attorney will be by your side throughout the entire case as you work to secure compensation. They will conduct a complete investigation into the incident and work to prove the negligence of the other party involved. An attorney will also push back against any defenses claiming that there was shared fault for the injury.