Pure Comparative Negligence
Were you partially at fault for causing an accident that you were injured in and are afraid to make a claim? If so, keep reading.
New York is a pure comparative negligence state. What that means is that in New York you can still sue if you were involved in an accident that you also caused with your own negligence. You can even be 99% at fault for causing an accident that you were injured in and still have a claim against the other party for their 1% of fault.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you always have a great case when you were mostly at fault for causing an accident. It all depends on the facts. If your damages are large enough, then you may still have a good case although you were partially at fault for causing your own injuries with your comparative negligence.
For example, let’s say there is a car accident at an intersection. Driver One, who was heading north and was speeding, enters an intersection at a high velocity while the light was green. Driver Two, who was heading south on the same road as Driver One, also has the green light and decides to make a left turn to head west. He enters the intersection and begins to cross the northbound lanes to make his left turn at the same time that Driver One enters the intersection to keep heading straight. Driver Two was not speeding and looked to see if there was any oncoming traffic before he entered the intersection. He saw Driver One’s vehicle but since it was far away, he estimated that he would make it across the northbound lanes in time to avoid Driver One. Driver One saw Driver Two’s vehicle start turning left to get ready to make a left turn but she thought that Driver Two was not going to enter the intersection until it was clear.
Driver One is seriously injured in the accident. She suffered several herniated discs throughout her spine due to the trauma and her injuries require surgery. Driver Two is also injured and suffers whiplash, but quicky recovers from his injuries. Driver One wants to sue Driver Two for his negligence in failing to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic. However, she is worried that she does not have a case because she was speeding. If she had not been speeding, Driver Two would have had enough time to make his left turn. However, if Driver Two would have waited for Driver One to pass the intersection before making the left turn, the accident also would have also been avoided. The drivers are both 50% at fault for causing the car accident.
Driver One can still sue Driver Two because her damages will likely be very high due to her serious spinal injuries. She has a good case even though she was also negligent. However, her damages will be reduced by her percentage of fault. So, let’s say the jury awards her $1,000,000 in total damages but finds her to be 50% at fault for causing the accident, then her award would be reduced to $500,000.