If the person that has filed a personal injury complaint can prove that the defendant is liable for the harm done to his or her body, then that same defendant can be held legally responsible for those same injuries. So, how can a plaintiff come forward with such proof? The plaintiff’s effort ought to uncover such proof should start with an attempt to answer to one question.
What is that question? It is short and simple: Was someone negligent? Stated more precisely, that inquiry asks this: Was the defendant careless and neglectful?
Questions that might be raised by the attorney for the defendant
Was the plaintiff, the injured victim, located in the spot where he or she belonged at that point in time? Is there a logical reason for the fact that the plaintiff had chosen to stand, sit or rest in that particular location?
Were two people careless? Was the plaintiff almost as careless as the defendant? Should the plaintiff have done more to remain protected from possible harm?
If the injured person had gotten harmed while on-the-job, the defense would demand a closer look at the existence or non-existence of any safety measures that had been put in place by the injured worker’s employer.
If the injury had been sustained by a guest on another person’s property, the defense would ask this: Was the property owner aware of the existing hazard?
What happens if 2 or more people are found at fault for the same accident?
At that point, all of the parties found at fault have a responsibility to the injured victim. If the plaintiff decides to initiate a personal injury claim, then all of the responsible parties need to be made aware of that fact. Such notification normally takes the form of a letter by the Personal Injury Lawyer in Vaughan.
Still, not all of the notified individuals will be expected to contribute the funds that will be used to compensate the injured victim. That same victim does not have to deal with several insurance companies; he or she must reach a settlement with a single insurance company.
Once the victim has recovered his or her compensation, then the party that paid the money used in that compensation package can seek reimbursement from the other responsible parties. The amount to be reimbursed will depend on the degree to which the plaintiff might have been negligent.
Comparative and contributory negligence
In states that follow the rules for comparative negligence, the percent of the plaintiff’s negligence will equal the fraction of the award money that gets subtracted from the final settlement figure. In states with contributory negligence, if the plaintiff were found partly at-fault, he or she would not get awarded a single cent.