If you’re pursuing a claim after an accident, you can hold the other side responsible for your injuries. However, if the other person disputes this by claiming you were partly to blame, you could both be held accountable for the accident.
In this situation, any insurance companies involved in addition to law enforcement and personal injury attorneys will all investigate the case. If they consider all the facts and determine you were indeed partially responsible for the accident, even in a small way, you could share some responsibility for needing to pay part of the damages. For example, in a situation where you were reversing out of a parking space, and the other driver was also reversing out of a parking space, you both would be held liable for the resulting car crash because neither party was paying attention.
A split liability agreement, in this case, would mean when you settle your claim, you will receive the percentage to which the other person is liable for causing your accident. For instance, if you were 20% responsible and another driver was 80% responsible, you would receive 80% of the whole amount for injuries and losses. In other words, you will receive significantly less money than if the other party was held entirely responsible for the incident.
If you or a loved one was harmed in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you will need a skilled Walnut Creek personal injury attorney on your side. Casper, Meadows, Schwartz & Cook is a firm that offers one-on-one attention for each client, providing trusted, compassionate, and reliable legal counsel. We are also proud to work with investigators, medical specialists, and experts to help develop the strongest cases possible. Let us see how we can help.
Contact us at (925) 275-5592 or fill out our online form to schedule your free case consultation today.