If you’ve been involved in an accident in Arizona that resulted in personal injury, you may be wondering about the state’s personal injury laws. Specifically, you may be curious about the concepts of comparative negligence and contributory negligence. In this article, we’ll outline what those terms mean, how they apply in Arizona, and what it means for your personal injury case.
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Comparative Negligence
Comparative negligence is a concept that recognizes that sometimes more than one person is responsible for an accident. In a personal injury case, comparative negligence allows the court to assign a percentage of fault to each person involved in the accident.
In Arizona, the comparative negligence rule is known as "pure comparative fault." This means that even if you were more than 50% responsible for the accident, you may still be able to recover damages. However, your damages will be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you.
For example, let’s say you were involved in a car accident where the other driver ran a stop sign and hit your car. However, you were driving over the speed limit at the time. The court may determine that you were 40% responsible for the accident and the other driver was 60% responsible. If your damages were $10,000, you would be able to recover $6,000 ($10,000 – 40%).
Contributory Negligence
Contributory negligence is a concept that means if you are even slightly at fault for an accident, you may be barred from recovering damages. This means that if you were involved in an accident in Arizona and the court determines that you were even 1% at fault, you may not be able to recover any damages.
Arizona does not follow the contributory negligence rule. Instead, the state follows the comparative negligence rule we outlined above.
What It Means For Your Case
If you were involved in an accident in Arizona that resulted in personal injury, the court will use the comparative negligence rule to determine who is at fault and how much damages you may be able to recover. This means that even if you were partially at fault for the accident, you may still be able to recover some damages.
However, it’s important to understand that insurance companies and their lawyers will often try to minimize the amount of damages they have to pay out. They may argue that you were more at fault than you actually were in order to reduce the amount of damages they have to pay.
This is why it’s important to work with an experienced personal injury lawyer if you’ve been involved in an accident. A lawyer can help you navigate the legal system and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Conclusion
Arizona’s personal injury laws operate under the comparative negligence rule, which allows for partial recovery of damages even if you were partially at fault for an accident. It’s important to work with an experienced lawyer to ensure you are being treated fairly and to maximize the amount of damages you are able to recover.