subject: Badly Injured Bicyclist Recovers For Injuries Suffered In Motor Vehicle Accident [print this page] Okay, so you were hurt in a motor vehicle accident. Unfortunately you were partly, or maybe even, mostly at fault for causing the accident. Are you able to get compensated for your injuries? And if you can, what amount? The response depends on the place the accident took place.
Take into account, for example, the documented personal injury claim wherein a nineteen year old woman was struck by a motor vehicle as she was crossing an intersection on her bicycle. The collison threw her off her bicycle. She was then hit and dragged by a second vehicle. She suffered several substantial injuries including an injury to her leg which resulted in an above the knee amputation. Based on one report people who observed the accident happen pointed out that the woman went into the intersection against red light. The law firm that took the case reported that it took the lawsuit to trial and the jury concluded that the city and the first second driver were 13% responsible and the second driver twelve percent at fault.
The jury determined that the woman was 75% to blame for the accident. In some States the law does not allow plaintiffs with more than 50 percent fault to be compensated for their injuries. The law in the State where this accident took place allowed her to recover regardless that the jury found that she was greater than 50% responsible for the accident. But with the relevant State law the amount she could get would only be proportional to her level of fault. Thus, while the jury awarded $1.8 million, she was only able to recover 25%, or $450,000.
Many individuals have the wrong idea that if they were mostly responsible for a motor vehicle accident that they are not permitted to recover for their injuries. It is thus critical for anyone injured in a motor vehicle accident to consult with an experienced motor vehicle accident lawyer so that you can establish if they are correct in their view that they were mostly at fault or if, legally, another person was actually at fault. And even in the event the plaintiff was really legally responsible for the accident, the lawyer will advise them on whether the relevant laws would nonetheless allow the plaintiff to be compensated, and if so, what formula would be used to calculate the sum.
Only an experienced attorney can correctly evaluate a potential claim under the relevant laws. Moreover, an experienced lawyer will also be familiar with the range of awards juries in the location where the lawsuit would be tried typically award for the plaintiffs injuries.
