What if a Car Accident Was Partially My Fault?

 Posted on April 12, 2024 in Car Accidents

Car accidents often happen because more than one driver erred. However, if you were less than 50 percent at fault for a wreck, you can likely still recover compensation. If the accident was more than 50 percent your fault, you might be barred from recovering damages under Illinois’ comparative negligence statute. This means that your Will County, IL car wreck lawyer will need to investigate and try to show the court that the accident was less than half your fault. If the court finds that you were less than 50 percent at fault, your compensation might be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you. For example, if you were 20 percent at fault for the accident, you can likely recover compensation for 80 percent of your damages. If there is a dispute over who was at fault for an accident, being represented by a skilled attorney is essential.

Partial Fault in Multi-Vehicle Accidents 

A multi-vehicle accident, or a “pile-up,” is rarely caused by one driver alone. It is very common for multiple drivers to be found at partial fault when a crash involves three or more cars. While one driver may be primarily at fault, others may share in the blame.

For example, if you are rear-ended by a speeding vehicle and crash into the car in front of you, the court may find that you are partially at fault because you were following too closely or stopped too close to the vehicle ahead of you. Or, say you were waiting to make a right turn on red and had stopped over the white line. If someone rear-ends you and pushes you into the intersection, where you hit a car that was lawfully turning left on a green arrow, you might be assigned some fault.

You can likely still recover compensation, but your percentage of fault may be deducted from your ultimate award.

Partial Fault in Two-Car Accidents 

Crashes involving two vehicles are often the sole fault of one driver. However, there are situations where both drivers are partially to blame. For example, say that you are changing from the right lane into the left lane to pass a slow-moving vehicle. You fail to notice that there is a car in the left lane moving at an extreme rate of speed. You change lanes, and the speeding driver cannot stop and hits you. While the speeding driver is likely mainly at fault, you might be assigned some portion of fault for failing to appropriately check that your lane change was safe.

While you can probably still recover compensation, your award or settlement might be reduced proportionately to your share of fault.

Contact a Plainfield, IL Car Wreck Lawyer 

Flaherty Law, LLC is committed to providing high-quality legal advocacy for people who have been injured in car accidents. Will County, IL car accident attorney Dan Flaherty has dedicated his career to fighting for people harmed by careless drivers. Contact us at 815-577-7500 for a complimentary consultation.