So you were injured in a motor vehicle accident. Unfortunately you were partly, or maybe even, mostly to blame for causing the accident. Will you be able to recover for your injuries? And if you can, how much? The answer might depend on where the accident took place.

Take into account the reported lawsuit wherein a nineteen year old woman was struck by a motor vehicle as she was going across an intersection on her bicycle. The collison threw her off her bicycle. She was then hit and dragged by a second vehicle. She suffered several major injuries including an injury to her leg which resulted in an above the knee amputation. According to one report witnesses to the accident pointed out that the woman entered the intersection without stopping for the red light. The law firm that took the case documented that it took the case to trial. The jury determined that the city and the first second driver were 13% at fault and the second driver 12% responsible.

When the trial finished jury decided that the plaintiff was seventy five percent to blame for the accident. In certain States the law does not allow plaintiffs with more than 50 percent fault to be compensated for their injuries. The law in the State where this accident took place allowed the bicyclist to recover despite the fact that the jury found that she was more than fifty percent at fault for the accident. Yet according to the applicable State law the amount she could get would only be proportional to her degree of fault. Thus, while the jury awarded $1.8 million, she was only able to recover twenty five percent, or $450,000.

Many individuals hold the mistaken notion that if they were mainly responsible for a motor vehicle accident that they are not eligible to recover for their injuries. It is therefore important if one is injured in a motor vehicle accident to consult with an experienced motor vehicle accident attorney in order to figure out if they are right in their believe that they were mostly responsible or whether, by law, another person was really responsible. And even when the plaintiff was in fact legally to blame for the accident, the lawyer will advise them on whether the relevant laws would nonetheless let the plaintiff to recover, and if so, what system would be applied to calculate the amount.

Only an experienced attorney can correctly assess a possible claim under the pertinent laws. In addition, an experienced attorney will also be familiar with the range of awards juries in the county where the claim would go to trial typically give for the plaintiff’s injuries.