Negligence is the basis of most Utah personal injury claims. Negligence is an individual or entity’s breach of the duty of care, often resulting in harm to others. Comparative fault is a related law that specifically refers to a plaintiff’s alleged fault in contributing to their injuries. It is important to understand your state’s comparative negligence law, as it could greatly impact your claim.
Comparative vs. Contributory Negligence
Most states abide by either comparative or contributory negligence laws. Comparative laws are forgiving toward plaintiffs, while contributory laws are not. In a comparative negligence state, a plaintiff’s partial contribution to an accident will not take away their right to obtain compensation. In a contributory negligence state, even 1 percent of fault for an accident will bar a plaintiff from financial recovery. Most states use some variation of the comparative negligence law.
Utah is a modified comparative negligence state. Under Utah Code 78B-5-818, a plaintiff’s comparative fault alone will not bar that person from financial recovery. The plaintiff’s fault, however, cannot exceed the fault of the defendant. Utah has a 50 percent bar on comparative negligence. If the courts find a plaintiff more than 50 percent at fault for causing the damages in question, the plaintiff will lose any right to recovery. With less than 50 percent of fault but still some comparative negligence, the plaintiff will receive a reduced recovery award.
How Does Comparative Negligence Affect Personal Injury Claims?
Modified comparative negligence in Utah can have a major effect on a personal injury claim. It could reduce the plaintiff’s payout or eliminate the right to recover completely. In Utah, the courts will reduce a plaintiff’s compensatory award by an amount that is equivalent to their percentage of fault for the accident. For example, if a jury grants a plaintiff a $50,000 judgment award but a comparative negligence defense leads to 20 percent of fault with the plaintiff, the courts will reduce $50,000 by 20 percent ($10,000). The plaintiff in this example would receive $40,000 instead of the original $50,000 due to their comparative negligence.
If a defendant succeeds in proving a plaintiff was more than halfway responsible for the accident, the defendant will not have to pay anything in damages. Allotting more than 50 percent of fault to a plaintiff during an injury claim in Utah will bar that person from recovery. It is critical, therefore, for victims to hire personal injury lawyers to help them combat the comparative negligence defense. Our lawyers can fight for maximum recovery by using proven strategies to reduce the percentage of fault assigned to you in Utah accidents.
The Role of Causation in Negligence Claims
The cause of an accident will have a significant impact on who is responsible for damages in a Utah personal injury case. Courts and insurance companies consider how the plaintiff’s actions or inactions led to their injury when determining causation.
There are two types of causation in personal injury claims: actual cause and proximate cause. For the defendant to be liable, their actions must have been both the actual and proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries.
Actual cause refers to the direct cause of the injury. From a plaintiff’s perspective, this is often formulated as, “if not for the defendant’s actions, the accident would not have occurred.”
By contrast, proximate cause considers the foreseeability of the defendant’s actions causing the accident. In other words, the alleged negligence can’t be too far removed in the chain of causation from the eventual accident.
Multi-Party Liability in Negligence Cases
A defendant is generally considered negligent if all of the following are true:
- They owed a duty of care to others. For example, a driver has a duty to operate their vehicle safely and follow traffic laws.
- They breached that duty of care. In a car accident case, this may involve things like running a red light or driving under the influence of alcohol.
- The breach caused harm to the plaintiff.
- The plaintiff suffered compensable damages, such as medical expenses, pain, and suffering.
In some cases, “gross negligence” may also come into play, which refers to extreme or reckless behavior that goes beyond typical negligence. If the underlying misbehavior is serious enough, it might warrant punitive damages.
Multiple parties can also be liable for a single injury in Utah. For example, multi-car accidents caused by a chain reaction collision may involve multiple defendants. The plaintiff may also share some liability if their actions contributed to the accident.
In these cases, each liable party is responsible for paying damages based on their percentage of fault. For example, if one driver is 70 percent at fault and the other driver is 30 percent at fault, they would each be responsible for paying their respective shares of damages.
What Factors Are Considered in How Utah Courts Determine Fault?
Utah courts look at the available evidence to determine who’s at fault for an injury. Witness statements are a significant factor, as people who observed the events leading up to an accident can provide valuable testimony about what they saw and heard.
Police reports also provide an official version of what happened based on the responding police officer’s observations at the accident scene. When primary evidence is unclear, testimony from accident reconstruction specialists, traffic engineers, forensic investigators, and other experts may shed light on how the accident occurred and who may have been at fault.
The plaintiff’s injuries may also reveal important details about the cause of the accident. For example, damage to certain areas of their body may suggest that the injury occurred due to a specific type of impact, such as being rear-ended in a car accident. Medical records, such as radiological imaging or physical exams, can also show how the accident caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
The presiding court may also consider whether either party was violating the law at the time of the accident. Speeding, driving under the influence, or other illegal activity can greatly impact a driver’s liability in an accident. Useful evidence in these cases often includes surveillance footage, dashcam footage, and other visual records capturing the events leading up to the accident.
Consult Feller and Wendt LLC™ for Help Calculating Your Comparative Negligence Claim
Calculate your comparative negligence in a personal injury claim in Utah with help from an attorney. An attorney can review your case to help you look for possible signs or evidence of your comparative fault. During the discovery phase of a lawsuit, your Utah car accident lawyer can find out what evidence the other side of the case has against you. Using this information, your lawyer can estimate what a judge or jury might assign as your percentage of comparative fault to give you a realistic expectation of the potential value of your claim. Then, your lawyer can work hard to minimize your comparative fault and protect your right to recovery.
If you or someone you love were injured due to someone else’s negligence, Feller & Wendt LLC™ is ready to fight for maximum compensation. Contact us online or call 801-499-5060 for a free case evaluation. You pay nothing unless we win your case.
This information provided by Feller & Wendt, LLC™ is for informational purposes only and should be in no way construed as legal advice.
