It is not uncommon that an injured person will be blamed totally or in part for their own injuries. Usually, Defendants typically do as much victim-blaming as they can so as to divert liability away from themselves.
Comparative Fault
The Florida justice system abides by a doctrine known as “Comparative Fault”. This allows a jury to apportion percentages of fault to different parties (and non-parties) after evaluating the evidence in a lawsuit. In practice, a jury can find that a Defendant is 60% responsible for your injuries and simultaneously determine that you, yourself, are 40% at fault for your injuries. For example, if your damages are $1,000,000.00, you would be entitled to the $1,000,000.00 minus your percentage of fault (40%) leaving you with a net recovery of $600,000.00.
Jurisdictions
Comparative Fault is divided into “pure” and “modified” jurisdictions. Florida falls into the former while some other jurisdictions across the Country fall into the latter. In Florida, even if you are 99% at fault for your own injuries, you may still recover the 1% from the at-fault Defendant. This is how a pure Comparative Fault jurisdiction works.
A “modified” Comparative Fault jurisdiction prohibits a plaintiff from recovering any damages (no matter how much the damages are) if the Plaintiff is found to be more than 50% at fault for his or her own injuries. Therefore, if a Plaintiff is 51% at fault, the Plaintiff is barred from recovery completely.
Contributory Negligence
Finally, in a minority of jurisdictions across the United States, a harsher rule is applied. That rule is called Contributory Negligence. In these jurisdictions, a Plaintiff is prohibited from recovering at all if the Plaintiff is found to be even the slightest bit at fault for their own injuries. Accordingly, a Plaintiff that is 1% at fault for his or her injuries is prohibited from recovering at all in these jurisdictions.
If you’re injured, give Romano Law Group a call so that we can help you navigate these issues.
Authored by Corey Friedman
