Are you struggling to recover compensation from a personal injury case because another party swears it’s your fault? Or is the insurance company trying to blame you to reduce their payout? These are common disputes in personal injury claims. In cases like these, Arizona’s pure comparative negligence doctrine comes into play.
Comparative negligence applies in legal claims where multiple parties share responsibility for the same incident, and it can significantly impact your financial recovery. Here’s what you need to know about comparative negligence in Arizona, how it can affect your injury claim, and how a Phoenix personal injury lawyer can help.
What Is Comparative Negligence?
Comparative negligence plays a crucial role in personal injury cases where more than one party bears some fault for an accident. Every state applies its own negligence rules in these cases, which directly impact how much compensation a person can recover from a personal injury claim. Arizona uses a pure comparative negligence model, which says you can still recover compensation if you are partially (or even mostly) at fault for an incident.
How Comparative Negligence Works in Arizona
When you file a personal injury claim under the Arizona comparative negligence system, the court examines each party’s role in causing the accident or injury. If you share part of the responsibility, the court will adjust your payout to reflect your percentage of fault. While some states prohibit claimants from recovering compensation if their fault exceeds a certain level, Arizona allows you to recover money even if you are 99 percent responsible.
Let’s say you get hurt in a car accident, and the court finds you 30 percent responsible for the crash. If you claimed $100,000 for your accident-related losses, your maximum payout would be reduced by 30 percent to account for your portion of fault. You would ultimately recover $70,000 in compensation.
How Comparative Negligence Affects Your Compensation
Because comparative negligence reduces your compensation based on your assigned percentage of fault, you could see a significant decrease in the amount of money you receive in your personal injury claim. This reduction can apply to all types of personal injury claims in Arizona, whether you were hurt in a car accident, slip and fall, or other incident.
Whenever liability is in question, it’s crucial to consult an experienced personal injury attorney. Insurance companies often use comparative negligence as an excuse to minimize or dismiss even the most valid claims. If they succeed in proving you carry more responsibility for the accident than you actually do, that’s more money in their pocket and less paid to you. Your lawyer can collect evidence to challenge disputes over fault so you are not unfairly blamed.
Common Scenarios Where Comparative Negligence May Apply
Comparative negligence applies in any situation where two or more parties share responsibility for an injury or accident. Consider these examples:
- Motor vehicle accident – Driver A hits the brakes suddenly in an effort to get Driver B, who is tailgating, to back off. “Brake checking” is illegal in Arizona, but so is following too closely. Under the state’s comparative negligence laws, the court would likely assign fault to both drivers for any resulting injuries.
- Premises liability – You trip and fall on a poorly maintained stairway in someone else’s building. The property owner might argue that you share some fault for the incident because you were intoxicated, not paying attention, or wearing unsafe footwear. In this type of case, the court might split the fault between you and the property owner.
- Product liability – Suppose you suffer an injury while using a power tool. You might claim the tool’s design or a manufacturing defect caused the injury, while the manufacturer may say you misused the tool or ignored its safety instructions. In these circumstances, a court might assign a percentage of fault to both parties and adjust your compensation accordingly.
Cases involving comparative negligence can get especially complex when there are more than two liable parties, so consulting a knowledgeable attorney is wise to best protect your interests and ensure everyone is held fully accountable for their role in causing your injuries.
Dealing with Insurance Companies and Comparative Negligence
When you file a personal injury claim, you can expect the insurer to examine every detail of the accident to determine fault. The insurance adjuster will aim to maximize your level of fault since this will reduce the company’s liability under Arizona’s comparative negligence rules.
Any time you speak to an insurance adjuster, avoid admitting fault or making statements that could imply responsibility. Stick strictly to the facts, provide supporting documentation, and work with an experienced lawyer who can protect you from unfair assignments of fault.
If the insurer assigns you a high percentage of fault, your attorney can help you negotiate or challenge this assessment. In Arizona, injured parties can contest fault allocations, especially if they feel the insurer exaggerated their responsibility. Your lawyer can present strong evidence like witness statements or expert opinions to bolster your claim for a lower fault percentage.
Contact Our Phoenix Personal Injury Attorneys to Learn More
If you need to file an accident claim and want to understand how comparative negligence could impact your compensation, contact Silkman Law Firm Injury & Accident Lawyer today. We offer free consultations so you can discuss your case and explore your options with a Phoenix personal injury attorney with no obligation.
Our personal injury law firm has a history of recovering six-and-seven-figure results for deserving Arizonans, including:
- $2.4 million for a wrongful death case involving a motorcycle crash
- $2.2 million in a medical malpractice claim
- $450,000 for a car accident victim who suffered multiple spinal fractures and a broken collarbone
Put our legal team to work for you, too. Contact us now to get started with your free consultation.