When you’re in an accident of any kind in Florida, you may still be able to recover compensation even if you are partly at fault. This compensation can help you cover the medical bills, loss of income, and other damages that you’ve incurred from this situation.

Boca Raton injuries are common in personal injury accidents, especially on our busy roads. Florida uses a pure comparative fault rule that permits you to receive financial damages even in situations where you share some of the blame.

Your award will likely be reduced based on the percentage of fault assigned to you in the accident. As a no-fault state, Florida requires each person in an accident to file their claims under their personal injury protection (PIP) insurance for medical expenses and losses. This requirement stands even if you had no fault in the accident.

Unfortunately, it may be hard to prove that you didn’t do anything wrong. The other driver’s insurer may try to blame you for the accident to avoid accountability. Knowing more about pure comparative negligence can help you when filing your personal injury claim.

How Is the Percentage of Fault Determined in a Florida Accident?

As mentioned, pure comparative negligence still allows injury victims to recover damages even if they share some fault. The other driver may be 90% responsible for the accident by running a stop sign and crashing into your vehicle, but if you were going over the speed limit, you may receive 10% of the blame. This would reduce whatever compensation you’re awarded by 10%.

The no-fault laws require all drivers to maintain the minimum in protection. If the accident doesn’t result in severe injuries, your insurance covers you. But if you’re seriously injured, investigations are opened by the insurance adjusters for all parties involved in the accident to assign percentages of fault.

It is a wise idea to obtain legal representation from a personal injury lawyer so you are not falsely blamed or assigned a greater percentage of fault. At the very least, consulting one will give you valuable legal advice and help you know where you stand.

How a Personal Injury Lawyer Helps Injury Victims Who Are Partially At Fault

In some cases, you may not be at fault in any way. Other times, you may share some of the blame. In either situation, you do not want to be assigned more fault that reduces your compensation.

An attorney will gather the evidence needed to prove you are not at fault or do not deserve a high percentage of the fault. They will likely hire an accident reconstruction specialist and other experts to help show proof of this. They’ll work on negotiating with the insurance companies to help you get the maximum compensation for your damages. They’ll also be prepared to go all the way to court, though, in most personal injury cases, both sides will agree to settle before that happens.

If you have minor injuries, you may not need a lawyer, but if you have endured serious injuries and damages, you will want expert legal advice. Personal injury attorneys are instrumental in helping you recover fair compensation and preventing you from taking all the blame.

With an attorney’s help, you can recover compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, property damage, loss of future earnings, and other damages. Many personal injury victims make the mistake of trying to handle things on their own, only to receive too little compensation or none at all.