Injured In A Multi-Car Crash In Illinois? What Should You Know About Comparative Negligence Laws?

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Being involved in a car crash is nearly inevitable over a lifetime of driving. Based on the number of claims made, insurance companies estimate you'll file a claim around every 18 years, or three to four claims during your driving career. If you do find yourself injured after a multi-vehicle auto accident in Illinois, you may find yourself facing an uphill legal battle to have your medical and vehicle repair bills paid if one of the defendants alleges comparative negligence as a defense. Read on to learn more about how Illinois laws deal with comparative negligence and what you'll need to do to minimize any potential liability when suing several defendants at once.

How does Illinois law deal with comparative negligence? 

Comparative negligence can be raised as a defense in any accident involving more than a single driver, but is much more common in multi-vehicle accidents. Under Illinois law, if you're deemed to be at least 50 percent at fault for an accident, you're not permitted to collect any insurance money (or a legal judgment) from any other drivers, even if one or more of them was found to be partially responsible. If you're deemed to be less than 50 percent at fault, you'll be able to recover damages from the party (or parties) at fault -- but your total damages award will be reduced by the proportion to which you're found responsible. For example, if one driver is 50 percent at fault and you and the remaining four drivers are each 10 percent at fault, your damages award will be cut by 10 percent.

How is fault assigned in multi-car accidents?

When several vehicles are involved in a major accident, insurance adjusters and analysts will visit the accident site to attempt to reconstruct what happened. If surveillance video is available, this can often make the process much easier -- however, these analysts are able to make fairly accurate judgments on how the accident took place just by measuring tire marks, collision points, and the level of compression a certain vehicle part has experienced. This can help determine the rates of speed of various vehicles and the order of impact. Insurance adjusters may also interview witnesses to get a greater perspective on potential fault (for example, if one of the drivers was observed traveling at a high rate of speed or driving aggressively just a few minutes before impact). 

If it's clear only one of the drivers involved had any ability to prevent the accident, this person (or his or her insurance company) will bear liability for all the damages stemming from the accident. However, if more than one driver was distracted, speeding, or otherwise engaging in behavior that could have prevented the accident, damage may be apportioned to each driver to the extent he or she was at fault for the accident through a doctrine known as comparative negligence.

What can you do to fight against potential allegations of comparative negligence?

It's in your best interest to be able to rebut any comparative negligence allegations the other parties involved in the accident can raise against you, in some cases even before filing your lawsuit. Doing your homework and ensuring that you can mount a thorough defense to this allegation (even if it turns out not to be needed) will help prevent you and your legal counsel from scrambling to gather evidence at the last minute or being suddenly put on the defensive when litigating your claim.

As sports fans can attest, the best defense is often a good offense -- so your attorney will likely take sworn witness statements, examine cell phone records, and take other investigatory measures to ensure there is no doubt that fault for this accident lies fully with the other parties involved.

For more information, consider a website like http://www.danielgoodmanlaw.com.


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