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Claims for personal injuries suffered in trucking accidents are based on a negligence theory. To recover compensation for your injuries, you must prove the other driver was at fault for causing the accident. In the typical personal injury case, the injury victim must prove:
But what happens if the defendant’s breach of duty was not the only cause of the accident? This type of situation is not unusual, especially in trucking accident cases where there can be more than one cause of your injuries.
Many people incorrectly assume they cannot recover compensation if they were partially at fault for causing a trucking accident. But under Ohio’s comparative negligence law, an injured person can recover financial compensation as long as they were not more than 50% at fault for causing the accident.
If you were injured in a truck accident, you can recover compensation for your injuries, even if you were partially at fault for causing the accident. Ohio applies a modified contributory fault law, which allows an injured person to recover partial compensation for their injuries as long as they were not more than 50% at fault for causing the accident.
Under Ohio’s contributory fault statute, the contributory fault of the injured person does not bar recovery, as long as the injured person’s fault is not greater than the fault of all other persons or entities, regardless of whether they are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
While the statute refers to contributory fault, the test is commonly known as “comparative negligence.” People may also use the phrase “contributory negligence” or “comparative fault” in the same context. Under Ohio’s comparative negligence law, an injured person can recover financial compensation if they were not more than 50% responsible for causing the accident. The damages an injured person can recover will be reduced by their proportion of fault.
Comparative negligence means that the injured person did something to contribute to causing the accident. As long as you are less than 50% at fault for causing the accident, you can still recover financial compensation. However, your recovery will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you.
For example, suppose someone was injured in a trucking accident, and the jury returned a $1 million verdict. Suppose the jury determined that the injured person was 25% at fault for causing the accident. The injured person’s financial recovery would be reduced by 25%, and they would recover $750,000.
Before 1980, Ohio courts applied a “contributory negligence” standard. Under the contributory negligence standard, an injured person was completely barred from obtaining financial compensation if they were at all responsible for causing the crash. The law was updated in 1980 and allows an injured person to receive financial compensation as long as they were not more than 50% responsible for causing the crash.
In Ohio trucking accidents, multiple parties can share responsibility for their role in causing the crash. Each defendant is responsible for paying their share of the blame. Suppose, for example, that in a trucking accident, the truck driver was found to be 50% liable, the loading company that negligently loaded the truck was found to be 20% liable, the trucking company negligently maintained the vehicle and was found to 20% liable, and the injured person was found to be 10% liable.
For the sake of simplicity, use the same example as above, where the jury determined the plaintiff’s total damages were $1 million. In this situation, financial responsibility for the plaintiff’s damages would be divided proportionately between all the parties. The truck driver would be liable for $500,000, the loading would be liable for $200,000, and the trucking company that negligently maintained the vehicle would be liable for $200,000. The injured person would only recover $900,000 because they were found to be 10% at fault. This example illustrates why it is important to identify every potentially responsible party before moving forward with a truck accident injury claim.
Trucking accidents are much more complicated than an accident involving two cars. The truck accident injury lawyers at The Robenalt Law Firm, Inc. can identify all the potentially responsible parties and hold them accountable for the harm they caused. We have decades of experience litigating complex truck accident injury claims and will fight to hold wrongdoers accountable and work to obtain the compensation you and your family deserve. We understand the relationships between the potential defendants and will thoroughly investigate your case to identify the responsible parties.
To learn more, contact us today to schedule a free and confidential consultation to discuss your case and how we can help. Call us at (216) 223-7535, email trobenalt@robenaltlaw.com, or complete our online form.
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