Determining Fault in Personal Injury Cases

Many clients who hire Lawrence & Associates come in because the insurance company has said they don’t think their insured is at fault. So, what do you do when fault for your injury is unclear? First, I think it’s probably the scenario where you’re most likely to need to get an attorney. Once an insurance adjuster has decided that they don’t actually have fault, they’re unlikely to change their mind unless you find brand new evidence that they had no idea was out there. And that’s not as common as you might think. The way to understand fault in a personal injury claim is you have to think about 100% of fault. Does that go on one person or multiple people? When a jury is asked this question, they’re given everyone who is involved in the injury—whether it’s a person or a company—all lined up top to bottom, and there’s a line with a little percentage figure next to the line, and they’re told, “Put a percentage of fault on each one of these people or companies, and at the bottom, it has to add up to 100%.” Whatever percentage gets put on you is taken out of your total damages. So, for example, if your total damages are $100,000 and you’re 10% at fault, you only get $90,000. The other $10,000 worth of damages—or 10% of the total—is on you to cover. Then each other defendant, if there’s more than one, has to pay out the total damages according to whatever percentage of fault was put on them. So again, $100,000 of damages—if the other defendant has 90% of fault, they get $90,000 that they have to pay to you. If a third defendant was 0% at fault, they don’t have to pay a thing. So, going back to your insurance claim, that’s how the insurance adjuster is thinking about fault. And when they say their insured is not at fault, they’re saying they think a jury would put 0% on their insured—which means they would have to pay you zero dollars worth of damages. If, on the other hand, the insurance company offers you a small amount of money and says that they think there’s shared fault or that both parties were at fault, what they’re saying is they think a jury might put some small percentage on their insured—and that’s all that their insurance is ever going to have to pay to you. You’ll be responsible for the rest. If you don’t agree with that decision, you should consult with an attorney right away. Give us a call at Lawrence & Associates so we can go over the facts with you and let you know whether we think the insurance company is judging your case fairly.