GIVING BACK

Car accidents are all unique occurrences with a variety of different factors at play. More complex accidents involve a flurry of individual decisions before everything comes to a halt, and it’s not often clear who was at fault for each specific instance of damage.

Drivers commonly assume that playing a partial role in an accident automatically disqualifies them from seeking financial compensation. While it’s true that it can disqualify you, it may not always be that way. In some jurisdictions and under specific circumstances, personal injury protection (PIP) policies cover your damages even if it’s determined that your actions resulted in the damage.

For the most detailed information about your personal situation, contact our team for a legal expert’s opinion of your circumstances.

Does Personal Injury Protection Cover Accidents Where I’m Partially at Fault?

In “no-fault” car insurance states, all motorists are required to hold a minimum amount of personal injury protection insurance. This coverage offers financial compensation (up to your limit) for drivers involved in accidents, regardless of who’s at fault.

The list of no-fault car insurance states includes:

• Florida
• Hawaii
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Dakota
• Pennsylvania
• Utah

Outside of these states, motorists can elect for optional personal injury protection through their car insurance. It offers basic coverage against medical bills resulting from the accident. However, it’s expensive, so you might not have this coverage at the time of your accident.

What if I Don’t Have PIP Insurance?

Drivers outside of no-fault states may not have personal injury protection insurance. In these cases, insurance companies use other methods of calculating a policyholder’s negligence in an accident: pure comparative negligence, modified comparative negligence, slight-gross negligence comparative, and contributory negligence.

What Is Pure Comparative Negligence, and Where Is It Used?

The pure comparative model applies a percentage of the blame to each relevant driver, using all available evidence. Each driver collects their damages and subtracts the percentage they contributed to the accident from their total payout. 

Not every state uses this model. Here are the ones that do:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Florida
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• New Mexico
• New York
• Rhode Island
• Washington

Pure Comparative vs. Modified Comparative Negligence

Like pure comparative, modified comparative negligence attributes a percentage of fault to relevant drivers. But, unlike its counterpart, motorists are only able to seek damages if they’re less than or equal to 50% at fault for the accident.

Basically, if you were more at fault than the other party(s), you’re disqualified from damages under this model. It’s one of the more popular models used by the following states.

• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Contributory Negligence Explained

Contributory negligence is straightforward: If you were at fault for the accident in any capacity, you’re ineligible from seeking damages. This applies to situations where you’re even 1% at fault.

Alabama, the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia are the only states that leverage this method of calculating negligence. Still, it’s a complicated process that must be handled correctly. For example, an error in the insurance company’s evaluation can falsely attribute fault to an innocent driver.

In these situations, it’s recommended to speak with an experienced attorney to learn more about your legal options.

Where Is Slight-Gross Negligence Comparative Used?

South Dakota is the only state that uses the slight-gross negligence comparative model when evaluating the fault of car accidents. It’s a more ambiguous version of the modified comparative model, where the driver’s eligibility for damages hinges on whether they were more than 50% at fault for the accident.

In technical terms, you may qualify for damages if your contribution to the accident was “slight,” and you’re ineligible if your contribution was “gross.”

Although uncommon, it’s important to have confidence in the outcome of your legal situation. If you don’t, make sure to speak with a legal representative before finalizing anything.

What if I Don’t Know if I’m at Fault for a Car Accident?

If you were injured in an accident and are unsure of whether your actions contributed to the damage, reach out to our team to learn more about your legal eligibility. Complete our free, no-risk case evaluation to tell us some brief information about your case, then we’ll reach out with potential next steps.

Most people are familiar with the flashes of criminal law on television, but there’s another layer to the legal system that most people understand very little about — civil law.

Civil law applies to disputes between people or organizations where someone was injured in some capacity by the wrongful action of another person, group of people, or organization. The injury can include physical injuries, mental anguish, and financial expenses, among many others.

Criminal Law vs. Civil Law

Criminal and civil law often overlap, but they can coexist separately as well. Civil cases can only result in fines to the at-fault party, while criminal cases can result in fines, jail time, and other penalties.

Here are a few examples of actions that result in criminal violations:

• Assault and murder
• Theft or larceny
• Tax evasion
• Driving while under the influence
• Drug possession

Here are some examples of civil violations:

• Discrimination in the workplace
• Negligence
• Medical malpractice
• Property damage
• Elder abuse

As you can see, both types of violations can result from the same situation. For example, if someone is driving while under the influence and causes an accident, that person may face jail time from the government and civil penalties from the victimized party.

The main difference is whether or not a criminal law was broken. If a person or organization only caused damage to another person or organization without breaking a local, state, or federal criminal law, it may have violated a civil law under certain conditions.

What Is a Personal Injury Case?

Personal injury law exists as a subset of civil law, describing situations where someone is harmed by the action or inaction of an individual or organization. This includes car accidents, slip and falls, workplace accidents, and product liability violations, along with many others. 

This type of case can result in only financial compensation to the victimized party. They range based on the type of violation, severity, and many other factors, but major cases have recovered millions in restitution. 

Are Car Accident Cases Part of Personal Injury Law?

Yes, and they’re one of the most common injury law cases. They can result in bodily injury and property damage, although property damage is much more likely. 

Here are a few examples of car accident personal injury cases:

• Fender benders
• Sideswipes
• Multi-vehicle pileups
• Pedestrian accidents
• Collisions involving large trucks and semis
• Incidents involving a collision with public transportation

Car accident cases can get complicated. For the best results, you might need to team up with an attorney.

What Is a Slip and Fall Accident?

Hazardous conditions can cause us to lose our footing and fall. In some cases, it’s a simple mistake, but all too often, a third party’s negligence creates a hazard that leaves someone injured.

Here are a few examples of this:

• The owner or relevant responsible party of a grocery store fails to notice and clean a liquid spill before someone slips and suffers an injury
• The owner of an apartment complex failed to alleviate icy walking conditions, and someone slips
• The owner of an outdoor brewery’s lack of maintenance creates a slippery slope that injures someone

This type of case falls under the broader umbrella of premises liability law. Basically, if you believe that a property owner, landlord, or other relevant party was responsible for the hazard that left you injured, you could be entitled to legal compensation.

What Is an Example of a Product Liability Lawsuit?

Product liability law protects consumers from manufacturers, retailers, and other organizations along the supply chain that fail to properly safety test their products. It applies to food, medicine, electronics, and other products.

Morgan and Morgan has advocated for the victims of defective airbags, military earplugs, toxic baby food, and many more. If you were harmed by a defective or dangerous product under normal circumstances, we want to help you recover.

Are Workplace Accidents Covered Under Personal Injury Law?

Yes, but certain restrictions apply to filing a case. Workplace accidents are covered by workers’ compensation insurance should cover the financial impact of your injury. Still, there are many situations where an employer wrongfully denies this insurance or the provider itself tries to diminish the victim's payout.

Call Morgan and Morgan today!

Finding yourself injured after an accident you didn’t cause comes with a lot of emotions. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, but know that you have a friend, ally, and powerful legal ally in Morgan and Morgan.

With an extensive track record of success, it’s easy to see why so many people trust our team to advocate for their civil rights. Complete our free, no-risk case evaluation to get started.

The insurance company takes many factors into account when calculating your claim, but there still might be details they need to fit the final puzzle pieces together. They may even reach out to you to verify information, but there’s a specific way you need to handle these calls. 

You need to provide only facts about the situation and steer clear of mentioning fault of any kind. Giving them information that they can use against you will almost always come up during the claims process, so you must know how to handle a call from your insurance provider, the at-fault party’s provider, or both before your phone rings. 

What Is an Insurance Adjuster, and What Do They Do?

Insurance adjusters are the people who evaluate incoming insurance claims. They cross-check your policy with your claim for damages and medical records, ensure their company follows the legal obligation of your contract, and determine your payout.

Their paycheck comes from evaluating claims to their company’s standard and driving revenue whenever possible. Your insurance provider might not try to dishonor your contract, but the at-fault party’s provider could try to contact you and get you to slip up, letting go of some information that they can use to devalue or deny the money they have to pay you.

Insurance adjusters are people, just like you. They aren’t someone you should immediately treat with hostility, but you should speak with caution if contacted. They have a job to do, and so do you. Protecting your future compensation is most important, so it’s recommended that you speak with a legal expert after filing your claim to learn how to handle the specifics of these calls without falling victim to deceptive practices.

How Should I Speak to an Insurance Adjuster if They Call?

You should only provide facts, not opinions or speculations, and give them the information they request, nothing else. If they ask for additional information, there’s no problem with pausing the conversation until you’ve spoken with your attorney.

Here are a few ways insurance adjusters try to deceive victims into admitting fault:

• Engaging in excess small talk to disarm the person
• Aggressively pursuing specific details, said in a specific way
• Asking for speculation
• Pressing you for information that hasn’t been officially determined in a formal investigation

Outside of verifying personal information or details they’re already aware of, insurance adjusters asking intrusive questions is a red flag. You can speak vaguely to avoid giving up sensitive information. Although they might not like your answers, you’re simply protecting your best interest, just as they are.

What Shouldn’t I Say to an Insurance Claims Adjuster?

There are a few topics you should avoid entirely, such as:

• Admission of Fault: Giving a claims adjuster anything that they can use as an admission of fault will complicate your ability to receive rightful compensation. Even something as simple as saying, “My bad,” or “I’m sorry for…” can potentially be used against you, so it’s best to leave emotion out of it.
• Discussion of Injuries: Insurance adjusters may try to dig deeper into your injuries to find information they can use to devalue your claim. They may ask about the severity, recovery timeline, or the treatment you received in hopes you slip up and give them something they can use.
• Permission to Record the Conversation: In most cases, an insurance adjuster recording a post-claim conversation isn’t for quality assurance. They’re likely asking you for permission to record so they can look back on the conversation later and see if anything you said can be spun to warrant lesser compensation.

Have a notepad nearby so you’re ready to write down important questions and comments brought up during the call. This will help you remember what was said to pass on to your attorney at a later date. It also provides a written record, although informal, that the conversation occurred, which could be important later.

Morgan and Morgan Can Help You Navigate Your Post Accident Timeline

School doesn’t teach you how to handle the steps after an accident. If you haven’t been in one before, the following steps can be complicated, overwhelming, and very stressful.

Having an attorney at your side makes the process much easier. They’ll have seen your situation before, which gives you an undeniable edge as you seek to recover every penny you’re entitled to. Not only that, but their involvement also provides a buffer between you and the finer legal details, giving you a chance to relax and focus on your recovery.

Morgan and Morgan has an extensive track record of success across all our practice areas. If you’re looking for proficient legal assistance after an accident, there’s no better choice than our team. Complete our free, no-risk case evaluation to get started.