Partial Fault Truck Accident

Answer:

I spoke with a client a couple of months ago who came into our office. She was a little bit feeling like maybe she didn’t want to be here. I said, “What’s the concern?” She said, “I think I may have contributed in some way to this accident.”

I said, “Well, I appreciate that you’re being so honest about that.” I said, “but that’s not uncommon.” You really don’t have to worry about the fact that you may have contributed to the accident if there is also evidence that this accident could have been avoided if somebody else on the roadway was not negligent. When we got into the facts of her case, it became obvious to me what she may have done to partially contribute to the accident was very minor in comparison to the truck driver who caused the accident in large measure.

The long explanation about how this works is really summed up by the idea that Florida recognizes that more than one person can be responsible for an accident. It’s the jury’s responsibility to apportion the fault among anybody who has a hand in causing an accident. If you’ve been seriously injured, we are not going to be deterred to hold another person accountable for your injuries because we all recognize we’re human. A jury can apportion fault on another driver. That can be enough to recover for your injuries when we put all the evidence before the court.

I told my client then and I’m telling you if you’re listening to this today, it is not uncommon to even have a minor role in an accident, but that does not prevent you from still being able to pursue justice for the negligence that another driver engaged in if that resulted in the accident. If your injuries are bad, and of course, oftentimes, they’re horrific, you owe it to yourself and your family to set aside any concern that you may have been partly responsible and hold everybody else to account for your losses. It’s going to be fair. We’re not trying to get away with something or tell you that the jury doesn’t care about what role you may have had to play. It all gets sorted out in the courtroom.

Our goal in representing you is to put forward the best presentation of evidence so that those who are the most responsible are held the most accountable. If you think you’ve been injured because somebody else also was negligent, please call me. I’m going to help you sort through it.