Personal Injury Law

Personal injury law is the place where people turn to when they are wronged by someone else. People get into accidents in many situations. But sometimes the accident can be a result of someone else.

For an accident that is caused by someone else, you can claim compensation. The accident can be of any type—a workplace accident, a slip and fall accident, a car accident, etc. For any accident that is caused by someone else, you can sue them and claim compensation. To claim compensation, you need to prove the negligence of the defendant.

You must prove that the defendant deliberately acted in a way that caused the accident. On roads, everyone owes a duty of care to the other drivers. Breaching that duty of care can be said as negligence.

This negligence rule differs from state to state. Every state has its own negligence rule. Some states will have a no-fault system, and some states will have a fault system.

When you are in a no-fault state, you will be compensated regardless of who was at fault. Yes, you don’t need to prove the negligence of the defendant to be compensated.

In other states, you need to prove the negligence of the defendant. In a personal injury case, you are the plaintiff, and the plaintiff bears the burden of truth. Meaning the plaintiff needs to prove negligence.

When it comes to negligence, there are two types of negligence: contributory negligence and comparative negligence. In this blog post, we will discuss comparative negligence.

What is Comparative Negligence

When someone is involved in an accident and suffers severe personal injuries, they may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit to pursue multiple types of compensation. Even though you have demonstrated in your tort case that another party was at fault for the incident, it is not a given that you will obtain compensation for the full cost of your injuries as an afflicted claimant.

However, the comparative fault, also referred to as comparative negligence, may come up in some cases involving personal injury. Comparative damage is a legal concept that assists victims in an accident or injury case in obtaining compensation.

According to comparative negligence law, each party is held accountable for an accident based on how much they contributed to its occurrence or consequences.

Suppose you’re looking for compensation in Atlanta. In that case, a personal injury lawyer can explain and discuss how Georgia’s comparative fault law may apply to your case if you sue someone who was at fault for your injuries.

Georgia is a Modified Comparative Negligence State

In some states, you cannot receive compensation for damages if you are even 1% responsible for an accident. Contributory negligence laws are followed in these states. However, if you are partially irresponsible, most states let you recover damages. There are different types of comparative negligence states.

Some states allow you to receive compensation even if you contributed 99 percent to the accident. These are states based solely on comparative negligence. Georgia, on the other hand, follows the modified comparative negligence rule. Georgia allows parties partially liable to claim damages, but parties whose actions account for 50% or more are not eligible for any compensation.

How Comparative Fault Can Impact Your Personal Injury Case in Atlanta

You are entitled to compensation if you contributed 49% to a car accident. On the other hand, you are not entitled to any compensation if you were 50% at fault or more. This example shows how crucial it is to present a convincing argument showing that the other party bears a more significant proportion of the fault.

It’s crucial to understand that Georgia’s laws on comparative negligence affect more than just your ability to receive compensation. They also influence how much money you can claim.

However, even if you were only partially at fault—by 49 percent or less—it still impacts the verdict or settlement. In Atlanta, the amount you can collect is proportionally reduced by the degree of your fault. Therefore, if you contributed 30% of the fault, your recovery will be reduced by 30%. You can only get back 70% of your losses in this situation.

This information increases the importance of selecting the best legal counsel for your situation. Effectively demonstrating fault is even more crucial in Atlanta due to the state’s comparative negligence laws because it affects your ability to collect a settlement and the amount you can. Learn more here about how comparative negligence can affect your car accident case.

What You Should Do

Now you understand the complications that come with the comparative negligence case. So, you should be aware that you can incur more losses from filing a claim. But that can be avoided by hiring a lawyer. Hiring a lawyer can help you in many ways.

First, you can avoid falling victim to insurance companies. As you already know, insurance companies will try to lowball by whatever means they can. A lawyer will have experience in dealing with insurance companies. So they will understand the strategies followed by insurance companies to lower your settlement amount.

In addition, you can see the complications of a personal injury case if you are living in a comparative negligence state. If you are found to be at fault for some percentage, the settlement amount will be reduced.

One of the tactics followed by insurance companies is to blame the victim for the accident. If they succeed in that, the settlement amount will be reduced significantly.

A lawyer can prove the negligence of the defendant. By proving the defendant’s negligence, you will get the maximum compensation you deserve. If you go to court alone, the insurance company’s lawyers will turn the case easily against you. Never make that mistake.

After an accident, you will have many kinds of expenses. The financial losses you incur will be huge. Getting compensation is the best way to come out of the financial loss. But you need to get the compensation you deserve. Learn more about comparative negligence, and never forget to hire a lawyer if you find yourself in these kinds of situations.