Personal injury lawsuits are very diverse and come in many different types. For example, car crashes can be very damaging and require a lot of specialized attention to get right. And the defenses in these cases can include concepts like contributory and comparative negligence, which take a specialized personal injury attorney to fully understand.

Car Accidents Are Very Common

Car accidents are one of the most common types of personal injury cases because people drive so much, including going to work, shopping, visiting friends, and much more. And car accidents can be among the most damaging types of personal injury cases because they often cause a large amount of physical suffering — levels that can be very hard for most people to tolerate or anticipate in their lives.

For example, a person may experience both physical and emotional pain after an accident. But the defendant is going to come at the plaintiff with some pretty strong defenses to save themselves in this situation. And it is important to understand what to expect here. 

Contributory and Comparative Negligence

A common defense a person is likely to use in a car crash case is the concept of comparative or contributory negligence. This idea is important to understand because it protects many people but can also be a difficult one to understand. Simply put, comparative negligence states that both parties were negligent in some way but that somebody was more negligent.

Contributory works in a similar way but is harsher — in comparative negligence, the potential damages are decreased according to the percentage a person may have contributed to an accident. Contributory nullifies all earnings if the parties were equally negligent. As a result, many people who may have been caused an injury in a car crash may try to claim that the plaintiff contributed.

These claims can include the idea that the plaintiff was driving too fast, driving too slow, driving erratically, refusing to move, poorly signaling lane changes, and much more. Even if a defendant cannot get the claims nullified — as very few states use contributory negligence – they may be able to get some of the money lost decreased to avoid financial strain or difficulties. Therefore, you need to get a high-quality personal injury attorney who can understand these defenses and prepare a way to get around them. Doing so can mean the difference between winning and losing a case.

For more information, contact a law firm like Bangel, Bangel & Bangel.

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