- May 23 2017
- | Personal Injury
Yes, contributory negligence does reduce the amount you can get.
For example, if you are found 50% at fault, and your damages are $100,000, then your amount of recovery will be reduced by $50,000, meaning you’ll only get $50,000. The same thing is true if you are found to be 10% at fault; of $100,000 damages, the award would be reduced by 10%, so your award or settlement amount would be $90,000.
How is it determined how much at fault I am?
The amount of your fault is a question for the fact-finder or the jury. Initially, it is something that the insurance company is probably going to hone in on and try to make it sound like you, as the pedestrian, were more at fault than you probably were in order to reduce the payment amount.
A qualified attorney who is experienced with dealing with the insurance companies can help you make sure they are not under-valuing the other party’s driver’s percentage of fault and decreasing your percentage of fault to get out of having to pay the claim.
With his master’s in insurance law, Patrick routinely helps individuals and businesses who are having issues with their insurance company. He also has extensive experience with personal injury actions, complex tort actions, product liability matters, and class actions. Patrick Leverty is rated AV by Martindale Hubbell (the highest rating) and has been granted membership in the Million Dollar Advocate Forum, and Multi-Million Dollar Advocate Forum. Patrick Leverty has been certified as a Personal Injury Specialist by the State Bar of Nevada. [ 
