If you were harmed in a crash and partially at fault, you may wonder if you qualify for injury compensation. It usually depends on your degree of fault and the ability to prove that it’s less than that of the other party.
Georgia follows a modified comparative fault rule, meaning you may recover damages if you share partial blame for an accident. To maximize your award, you must prepare your claim carefully, especially if you contributed to the crash.
How does it work?
You cannot recover financial damages in Georgia if you are primarily responsible for your injuries. Under the state’s fault rules, your contribution to the crash must be less than 50% to recover anything.
Say you were involved in a rear-end collision with another motorist who was speeding and texting. However, you failed to signal before changing lanes, contributing to the crash. The other driver may be assigned 80% of the fault and you 20%.
You can still get compensation in this situation, but not as much as you would if you played no role in the accident. For example, if your total damages were $100,000, you would only receive $80,000 (80% of $100,000).
What happens with equal fault?
Say that one driver is speeding and caused a collision with another driver who was also speeding. The claim assessment may find both parties equally at fault because they committed the same traffic offense. In this scenario, neither is likely to receive any compensation.
Since a motor vehicle crash can result in life-changing injuries, do everything possible to strengthen your claim. That means gathering evidence that can show the other driver was primarily responsible. Legal guidance can also benefit your claim when the question of fault is a concern.