People who suffer an injury in a crash caused by a negligent individual may require significant medical attention. This can involve emergency treatment, ongoing medical care, therapy appointments and a variety of other care. All of that can be costly.
The financial impact of a car crash often comes at a time when the victim is unable to work, likely because they’re healing from their injuries. This is particularly common when the person suffers a catastrophic injury, such as one involving the brain or spinal cord.
Victims of these crashes may decide to seek compensation. In Illinois, their ability to do so may be limited by their share of the fault in the crash. Illinois follows the modified comparative negligence model.
What is the comparative negligence model?
Each party is assigned a percentage of fault, which is based on the evidence of the case. This includes witness statements, police reports, accident reconstruction findings and traffic camera footage. In many cases, both parties in a crash would have some degree of shared responsibility.
Why does percentage of fault matter?
Illinois uses the 51% bar rule in personal injury claims. This means that if the victim is 51% at fault, they’re fully barred from being able to recover damages for the crash. If the victim is 50% or less at fault they can recover damages, but those damages are reduced by the percentage of fault they’re assigned. For example, if a victim is 20% at fault for a crash and the award is $200,000, the victim would be able to receive $160,000 of the award because there would be a 20% reduction in the award.
Understanding how to show the responsibility that should be assigned in a car crash can be complex. It may be beneficial to work with someone who’s familiar with this aspect of personal injury cases so they can provide assistance.