A Potential Defense to a Personal Injury Claim and How it Works

A personal injury claim can be filed if you are injured by another’s negligence or failure to perform. Millions of common injuries that qualify for personal injury claims are reported by Americans every year.* When you file a personal injury claim, you become the plaintiff, and the party who you sue becomes the defendant. Comparative Negligence is a defense that apportions liability in an accident. Comparative Negligence      Comparative negligence comes into play when determining what damages you should receive as a result of another’s negligence. This defense looks at your involvement in the incident and assigns a degree of liability to both you and the defendant. For instance, you could be found 25 percent liable for your accident, leaving the defendant 75 percent of the liability. Any compensation or award you receive for your personal injury claim could be reduced by 25 percent due to your comparative negligence. In some states, you can recover damages for an accident or incident as long as you are not found 100 percent to blame. In others, you can only recover damages and receive compensation if your comparative negligence is ruled to be less than 50 percent. Kentucky is a “pure” comparative negligence state, meaning that if you are injured in Kentucky, you can collect damages even if you are partly to blame for the incident. However, the amount you receive for your injuries and claims will be reduced by the amount of responsibility assigned to you, i.e., if you were found to be 60 percent liable, then any award would be reduced by 60 percent.   The best way to learn about your personal injury claim options is to speak with an experienced attorney. A personal injury attorney can help you determine if you should pursue a personal injury claim. If you need a personal injury attorney in Kentucky, contact Edwards & Kautz Law Firm at 270-908-4914 to schedule a free legal consultation with their experienced personal injury attorneys. *According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.