subject: Severely Injured Bicyclist Compensated For Injuries Suffered In Motor Vehicle Accident [print this page] Each State has its unique laws that control lawsuits for motor vehicle accidents. For instance, every State has a variation of a law referred to as a Statue of Limitations the quantity of time following the accident within which the plaintiff must file his or her claim. Another very critical law deals with whether, and how much, a plaintiff can get compensated if the plaintiff is partially responsible for the accident.
Take into account the published lawsuit wherein a 19 year old woman was hit by a motor vehicle as she was crossing an intersection with her bicycle. The collison threw her off her bicycle. She was then hit and dragged by a second vehicle. She sustained a variety of substantial injuries. Among them were an injury to her leg which required her to undergo an above the knee amputation. Based on one report witnesses to the accident indicated that the plaintiff went into the intersection while she had a red light. The law firm that represented the bicyclist reported that it took the lawsuit to trial. The jury determined that the city and the first motor vehicle driver were thirteen percent at fault and the second driver twelve percent at fault.
The jury found that the bicyclist plaintiff was 75% at fault for the accident. In certain 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 permitted her to get compensation regardless that the jury found that she was in excess of 50% to blame for the accident. However under the pertinent State law her recovery would only be proportional to her level of fault. Thus, while the jury awarded $1.8 million, she was only able to recover twenty five percent, or $450,000.
Many individuals hold the mistaken idea that if they were mostly at fault for a motor vehicle accident that they are not permitted to recover for their injuries. It is thus critical if one is injured in a motor vehicle accident to consult with an experienced motor vehicle accident attorney so that you can establish if they are correct in their believe that they were mostly responsible or whether, legally, another person was in fact at fault. And even if the plaintiff was actually legally responsible for the accident, the attorney can advise them on whether the relevant laws would even so let the plaintiff to recover, and if so, what formula would be used to assess the sum.
Only a competent attorney can correctly assess a possible claim under the applicable laws. Moreover, an experienced attorney will also be aware of the range of awards juries in the location where the lawsuit would be tried usually give for the plaintiffs injuries
