How Does Comparative Or Contributory Negligence Impact California Personal Injury Cases Resulting From Slip-And-Fall Or Trip-And-Fall Accidents?
by
Brett C. Drouet on Jul. 29, 2022
Accident & Injury Accident & Injury Personal Injury Accident & Injury Slip & Fall Accident
Summary: Comparative or contributory negligence can impact the percentage of damages a person may receive in their case.
How Does Comparative Or Contributory Negligence Impact California Personal Injury Cases Resulting From Slip-And-Fall Or Trip-And-Fall Accidents?
Comparative or contributory negligence can impact the percentage of damages a person may receive in their case.
As is the case with any claim, people making personal injury claims from slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accidents are expected to conduct themselves in a reasonably safe manner (or at least as much as the average person would in the same situation). Therefore, you are expected to use common sense, to look where you’re walking, and to try to avoid hazards if you can do so. Not doing so may lead to you being assigned comparative or contributory negligence.
If we return to the example of the apple pie that we used previously, we can illustrate how that might impact your case. Let’s assume the full pie is a case where the other party is 100% liable for your accident, with 100% of the responsibility.
If you could have avoided the slip-and-fall but did not because of your own negligence, you may be considered liable to some degree. Let’s say you were not looking around you as you were walking. The judge or jury will consider the specifics of the accident and will decide exactly how much that action or failure on your part contributed to or caused the accident. Let’s say they find that it makes you 50% negligent, and therefore 50% liable for the accident. In that case, you would be able to recover 50% of the “pie”—i.e., your damages for pain and suffering as well as for economic damages.
For more information on Personal Injury Law in Los Angeles, San Diego and Southern California, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (626) 644-1755 or (619) 844-6448 today.
