Anyone who has been involved in a car collision can attest to the fact that the process of working through the associated issues can be time consuming for a Massachusetts resident. Calls to insurance companies often must be made, and repair shops must be found to perform work on damaged cars. If individuals suffer injuries in their car accidents they may require medical care and time to recover.
As such victims of car accidents can often seek to recover their losses from the parties that caused them to suffer harm. However, in Massachusetts, a victim may face a claim of contributory negligence if the party or parties they have sued believe that the victim was partially to blame for the crash that hurt them. This post will briefly discuss the legal concept of contributory negligence but all readers are asked to find their own legal advisors since this post does not offer legal advice.
Contributory negligence operates under the premise that more than one party caused an accident or incident to occur. If a victim is found to have contributed to the accident that caused their injuries, they may see their damages reduced. For example, if a victim is found to have been 20 percent responsible for their crash and another party is found to have been 80 percent responsible, then the victim’s damages may be reduced to 80 percent of what they would have otherwise received had they not carried any fault.
Legal topics that can affect the outcome of civil litigation cases should be discussed with attorneys who are familiar with individuals’ claims. Contributory negligence and other topics may be relevant to car accident victims and can change how their claims are addressed in the courts.
