Car accidents are complicated. While in your memory the car accident will have been over in a split second, there will have been many factors at play that caused the accident to occur. While it’s easy to believe that a car accident was 100% one party’s fault, this is not often the case.
Often, there can be a combination of factors, from the unfavorable weather conditions, the tiredness of one driver and a poorly calculated decision from another driver, which can lead to a collision.
If you have recently been involved in a car accident in Illinois and you have been told that you were partially to blame for the causation of the accident, you may be familiar with the term “comparative negligence.” The following is an overview of what you need to know about comparative negligence in an Illinois car accident.
How Illinois law works
In Illinois, the blame is split between multiple parties if it is found that more than one party was at fault. This means that a person may be determined to be at fault to the degree of a certain percentage, for example, 30% or 70%.
Determining the distribution of fault
If it can be shown that you were engaging in distracted driving while another person was speeding or making an illegal move, you may be determined to be partially at fault for the accident, but even if you were 99% to blame for the accident, you still have the ability to claim damages in Illinois.
Gaining compensation in accordance with comparative negligence
The damages that you will be able to gain back are determined by the percentage amount you were to blame. For example, if you were 20% at fault for an accident, you will be able to gain 80% of the total damages you incurred.
If you have been involved in a car accident in Illinois, make sure that you understand how comparative negligence theory applies to your case.