In the aftermath of a personal injury, the last thing you want to hear is that you were partially to blame. Under Massachusetts comparative negligence law, the amount of money or ability to recover any damages at all lies with the amount of fault you share with the defendant. With help from your Massachusetts personal injury lawyer from DiBella Law, you have the best chance of recovering your maximum settlement amount.
When you choose to move forward with your personal injury case working with our team, you are getting the support of one of the top personal injury litigators in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as recognized by several local and national legal associations. We take every case personally and will fight for your best interests. Continue reading as we dive into Massachusetts comparative negligence law, explained.
Understanding Comparative Negligence
Comparative negligence is the legal principle where the court can reduce the amount of damages available for a plaintiff to recover in a claim that is based on negligence, according to the amount of negligence each party contributed. When the victim is partially at fault due to their own negligence, the court will assign a percentage of fault to both the defendant and the injured victim. The plaintiff will then only be able to recover the amount calculated by subtracting their percentage of fault from the total settlement amount originally requested.
There are several types of negligence laws in the United States and each state varies in the types of damages they will award. These types of negligence laws include comparative negligence, contributory negligence, and modified comparative negligence. All of these require a preponderance of evidence to prove any individual is liable.
The strictest of these rulings is contributory negligence, where if a plaintiff has any percentage of fault, they are barred from recovering any settlement amount from the defendant. States are slowly adopting comparative negligence as an updated form of ruling, and only a handful of states still use contributory negligence today. Consult with your Massachusetts personal injury lawyer if you have any questions regarding these legal principles and how they will affect your case.
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Massachusetts Modified Comparative Negligence
Under Massachusetts General Law – Part III, Title II, Chapter 231, §85, personal injury cases in the state are governed by modified comparative negligence. This allows a plaintiff to recover damages for their injuries as long as they are less than 51% at fault for their accident. If the percentage of fault they have is over this limit, they will be barred from any amount of recovery from a defendant.
An example of Massachusetts’ modified comparative negligence would be if you are filing a personal injury lawsuit against a drunk driver who caused a vehicle collision, which then caused you injuries. If you were speeding at the time of the crash, you may be assigned a moderate amount of fault, but the fault of the drunk driver would likely be more than 50%. Thus, you would be able to recover damages from the defendant, subtracting whatever amount of fault the court deems appropriate.
This modified version is in contrast to pure comparative negligence, which allows a plaintiff to claim damages for as little as the 1% they are not at fault for, even if they are 99% at fault for their personal injury. This “pure” form of comparative negligence is followed by roughly one-third of the United States, including other East Coast states around Massachusetts, like New York and Rhode Island. Both Massachusetts and our bordering state, New Hampshire, follow modified comparative negligence, however.
Proving Negligence in Massachusetts
In states where the amount of negligence is so important to the result of your case, it is vital to gather as much evidence to prove your innocence and the defendant’s liability. Working with a Massachusetts car accident lawyer will help you have the best chance of success in establishing a solid case supported with proof. We will help you find evidence that will help you in your case, such as:
- Video or photographs of the incident or the scene of the incident
- Dashcam footage
- Eyewitness testimony
- Physical evidence
- Documentation such as medical records
- Black box data and driving logs
- Accident and law enforcement reports
We will fight to establish a strong case against the defendant and minimize the amount of liability that you face. We may even bring in reconstruction specialists to help recreate and show the court the sequence of events leading up to the exact accident or incident that you were injured in. Our goal is to obtain the best possible settlement in your favor, using everything at our disposal.
Product Liability and Comparative Negligence
Typically, product liability does not fall under the ruling of Massachusetts comparative negligence. While this doctrine legally applies to all personal injury cases, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is particularly strict against its rulings against manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of harmful products that cause personal injury, death, or property damage to the public. If you are filing a product liability lawsuit, it is important to speak with an experienced product liability attorney who can advise you on the best way to approach your case.
Under the Massachusetts legislature, product liability is defined as damages due to personal injury, death, emotional harm, consequential economic damage, or property damage due to the manufacture, importation, design, packaging, or sale of a defective product. This is not specifically recognized by the court. However, comparative negligence does not often enter into these cases because manufacturers, distributors, and sellers should provide adequate warning labels or face liability for misuse or defective claims against their products.
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