Getting into an accident and sustaining injuries can be a life-altering experience. In Connecticut, if you’re involved in a personal injury case, there’s a legal concept you need to understand called "comparative fault." This means that if you’re found to be partially at fault for the accident, the amount of compensation you can receive will be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you. In this article, we’ll explore the concept of comparative fault in more detail to help you understand how it works in Connecticut personal injury cases.
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What is Comparative Fault?
In Connecticut, comparative fault, also known as comparative negligence, is a legal principle used to determine how much compensation a victim can recover for their injuries. If the victim is found to have contributed to the accident, then their compensation award will be reduced depending on how much fault is assigned to them.
Contributory Negligence vs. Comparative Fault
There are two different legal principles used to determine fault in personal injury cases: contributory negligence and comparative fault. Connecticut uses a modified comparative negligence rule which is different from the pure comparative rule.
Contributory negligence is a legal principle that says if the victim in a personal injury case is even partly at fault for the accident, they are not entitled to any compensation from the other party. This means that if a victim is 1% at fault for an accident, they do not have a legally valid claim to recover damages from the party that is 99% responsible.
Comparative fault, on the other hand, is a legal principle that says if the victim is partly at fault for the accident, then compensation will be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to them, unless their percentage fault is greater than 51&.
Connecticut’s Modified Comparative Negligence Rule
Connecticut uses a modified comparative negligence rule where a victim can only recover damages if the percentage of fault assigned to them is less than 51%. Under this rule, if a victim is found to be 50% or less at fault, they can still recover damages, but their award will be reduced based on the percentage of fault assigned to them.
Examples of Comparative Fault in Action
Let’s say that Bob is driving his car and runs a red light, causing an accident with Sarah’s car, who is also at fault in this scenario. The jury finds that Sarah bore 20% of the responsibility for the accident because she didn’t stop at the intersection during the yellow signal.
In this case, Bob may be entitled to compensation, but it would be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to him, which is 80%. In other words Bob would only be entitled to 80% of his total damages.
Conclusion
In Connecticut, comparative fault is used in personal injury cases to determine the amount of compensation that a victim can recover based on their degree of fault in the accident. Modified comparative negligence rule is a legal principle that allows victims to recover damages as long as they are 50% or less at fault. Understanding this concept is vital if you are involved in a personal injury case. Be sure to speak with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney if you have questions about comparative fault or how it applies in your case.