subject: Bicyclist Was Largely Responsible For Accident But Still Recovers Against Drivers [print this page] Each State has its unique laws that control lawsuits for motor vehicle accidents. For instance, every State has a version of a law called a Statue of Limitations the quantity of time following the accident within which the plaintiff has to file his or her lawsuit. Another extremely critical law deals with if, and how much, a plaintiff can get compensated in case the plaintiff is in some measure responsible for the accident.
Consider, for instance, the published lawsuit wherein a nineteen year old woman was hit by a motor vehicle while she was going across an intersection with her bicycle. The collison threw her off her bicycle and she was then hit and dragged by a second vehicle. She suffered multiple substantial injuries including an injury to her leg. The leg injury required her to undergo an above the knee amputation. Based on one report witnesses to the accident indicated that the woman went into the intersection without stopping for the red light. The law firm that took the case reported that it took the case to trial. The jury determined that the city and the first motor vehicle driver were 13% to blame and the second driver twelve percent at fault.
The jury determined that the woman was 75% to blame for the accident. In particular 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 happened allowed the bicyclist to recover even though the jury found that she was in excess of fifty percent responsible for the accident. But with the pertinent State law the amount she could get would only be proportional to her degree of fault. Thus, while the jury awarded $1.8 million, she was only able to recover 25%, or $450,000.
Sometimes, people wrongly hold the view that if they were primarily at fault for a motor vehicle accident that they are not entitled to recover for their injuries. It is therefore important for anyone injured in a motor vehicle accident to check with an experienced motor vehicle accident attorney so that you can figure out whether they are correct in their believe that they were mostly to blame or if, by law, another person was in fact at fault. And even in the event the plaintiff was really legally to blame for the accident, the lawyer can advise them on whether the relevant laws would even so permit the plaintiff to recover, and if so, how would the amount be established.
Only an experienced attorney can accurately evaluate a potential claim under the relevant laws. Plus, an experienced lawyer will also be familiar with the range of awards juries in the venue where the claim would be tried typically give for the plaintiffs injuries.
