If someone’s negligence led to another person receiving an injury, the negligent person can usually be found responsible during a personal injury case. They will have to reimburse the injured person for all or part of their medical bills or other financial losses that resulted from the injury. In order for this to happen, though, the injured individual must find the other person legally at fault for the injury.

The person responsible for the accident will not always be found at fault in the eyes of the law. If the injured individual was acting carelessly or went where they weren’t supposed to when they received the injury, the person responsible for the accident may not be liable. The responsible person is liable, though, if the accident occurred because their property is dangerous or poorly maintained or if they were the manufacturer or seller of a defective product.

Sometimes, more than one person is at fault, especially in cases like car accidents with multiple careless drivers. Any of the careless people at fault can be held responsible for compensating the injured person, and all parties must decide which person should be legally held accountable.

Comparative negligence is a factor in some cases, particularly in car accident injury cases. Even if the injured person partially caused the accident due to their own carelessness, they may still be able to get some compensation from one of the other careless people involved. However, the amount of compensation they receive usually depends on what percentage of liability they have for the accident. For example, if the person responsible for an accident is found 80 percent at fault and the full compensation is $1,000, they will only have to provide $800. In most states, though, an injured person can’t receive any compensation if they were more than 50 percent responsible for the accident.

During a personal injury case, lawyers and investigators will always consider the circumstances leading up to the injury, including the actions of the injured person. In order for the at-fault individual to be found fully legally responsible, the injured person can’t have shown any carelessness contributing to the injury.

If you have a concern about your legal rights, remedies, and obligations contact the experienced lawyers of the Law Office of Freeman & Chiartas.