Joint Liability and Comparative Fault in Florida

In accident cases, we tend to think it’s cut and dry: determine who is at fault for the accident or who is negligent, and then determine how much the negligent party pays. But the real world often doesn’t work like that. In the real world, in any kind of accident, there are often both parties that are at fault, or which did or didn’t do something to cause or contribute to an accident.

Victim Blaming

It’s important to remember that blaming the victim for an accident is the first line of defense for any defendant in an injury case. But just because the Defendant says that you did something to cause or contribute to your accident, doesn’t make it true. Most injury lawyers are well versed in how to combat this very basic allegation.

What if You Were Responsible?

But let’s assume that there is some modicum of truth to what the Defendant is saying—that there is some evidence that could, possibly, lead a jury to believe that you were partially at fault for the accident, along with the Defendant that you are suing.

That doesn’t mean that you can’t sue. It does make the case harder.

In Florida, the percentage that a jury finds you, as the victim, liable for your own injuries or accident, will be the amount that is reduced from whatever the jury awards you.

So, in an easy example, assume that the jury thinks your losses and injuries have a value of $100,000, but that you contributed to the accident and were 20% at fault. That 20%, or $20,000, would be reduced from the $100,000, netting you $80,000.

That’s why Defendants love to throw whatever they can at the wall and see what sticks, when it comes to making victims liable for accidents. Because even if the jury finds the victim 1%, 10% or 30% liable, it can save the Defendant a lot of money.

Could You Get Nothing?

But as of a recent law change, things have become a bit more difficult, when both parties are at fault.

If you, as the victim, are more than 50% responsible for your own accident, you get nothing. That’s right-not a penny of the total recovery that the jury awarded you.

That’s another reason why Defendants often fight to argue that you have responsibility for your own accident. If the Defendant can just get the jury to believe that you are 51% responsible for your injuries—not a particularly high threshold—they won’t have to pay a thing.

You can, and should, see an attorney about recovering for your injuries, even if you have reason to believe that you may be partly responsible for your own injuries. There are ways to fight this defense, but because of the risks involved, you shouldn’t ever try to do it on your own.

Call the Tampa personal injury lawyers at Barbas, Nunez, Sanders, Butler & Hovsepian for help and to schedule a consultation today for help and to see if you have a case for compensation for your injuries.

Sources:

home.arbfile.org/news/articles/florida-negligence-law-change

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0768/Sections/0768.81.html