Often at the heart of Florida personal injury claims is the issue of who is at fault for an accident. This is especially true when there are several parties involved, or when a party claims that a victim was partly at fault. For example, even in a situation in which one driver is at fault for failing to obey traffic laws, another driver may be at fault for driving too fast to respond appropriately.
Comparative Negligence in Personal Injury Claims
In 1973, the Florida Supreme Court established the rule of comparative negligence in all tort cases. Comparative negligence considers the fault of the plaintiff in determining the plaintiff’s compensation. Under Florida’s pure comparative negligence standard, the plaintiff’s total damages award will be reduced by their own percentage of fault. For example, if a jury determines the defendant was 70% at fault, and the plaintiff was 30% at fault, the plaintiff will receive 70% of their damages.
If there are multiple defendants, a jury can assign each party a percentage of fault. Even if a jury finds a plaintiff was mostly at fault, the plaintiff can still recover compensation. The idea behind comparative negligence is that often multiple parties are at fault, and thus, each party should share in the blame. Now, Florida Statute 768.81(2) states that any contributory fault chargeable to the claimant is reduced according to the amount awarded for an injury attributable to the claimant’s contributory fault, but this does not bar recovery.
A plaintiff still has a general duty to exercise reasonable care for their own safety. All individuals and entities have a duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. However, everyone also has the right to presume that everyone else will obey the law.
FIU Student Killed While Crossing Street
A freshman at Florida International University was killed early on a Sunday morning when she was struck by a car while crossing a street near the school’s campus. According to one news source, the student, who had just started school as an information technology student, was 18 years old.
The Denver, Colorado native was crossing Southwest Eighth Street at 109th Avenue. Students who live in student housing often cross the busy street to get to campus. The school offers shuttles to students, but they do not run late at night, according to the mayor. One student said that she saw the car hit the student. According to the mayor, the motorist had a green light, and the student should not have been crossing at the time. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the student’s tragic death.
Contact a Florida Injury Attorney Today
If you have been injured in an accident or suffered a loss or damage to property, you may be entitled to compensation. The Florida auto accident attorneys at Cecere Santana are committed to providing dedicated representation to residents of Fort Lauderdale and throughout the region. Our attorneys represent individuals in personal injury cases, homeowner’s and property claims, workers’ compensation cases, and immigration matters. We work tirelessly for our clients to pursue maximum recovery in their cases, and we can do the same for you. To set up a consultation with an attorney, call (800) 753-5529 or visit our website.
More Blog Posts:
Boating Accidents in South Florida, Cecere Santana Injury Lawyers Blog, published June 1, 2017.
Florida Children Exposed to Toxic Gas at Indoor Pool, Cecere Santana Injury Lawyers Blog, published July 7, 2017.
