When navigating the tricky world of legal proceedings, it’s important to understand certain concepts to ensure you are properly pursuing a case. In the case of injury or liability, during the proceedings it must be determined which party is more at fault. A third party decides who is more at fault after seeing the evidence, and then it must be decided how much compensation each side will get, if any.
What Is Comparative Fault?
In some cases, it is very easy to tell who is at fault for the accident. If someone runs a red light and blindsides another car, the driver who ran the light is obviously the one at fault. However, most cases are not that cut and dry. Typically, human error on both sides contributes to the incident, and a third party must decide who is more at fault.
When the third party makes their decision, the following proceedings decide the ramifications as such. There are a few different types of comparative fault or comparative negligence that decide which party must compensate the other and how much they should compensate. Most states follow one type of comparative fault, while a handful of others have their own regulations.
How This Applies In Minnesota
In Minnesota, and the majority of other states, the legal system follows a modified comparative fault system. In this system, the party who is 51% or more at fault is the party who must compensate the other, while not receiving any compensation themselves. If you are 49% or less responsible for the accident, you are not liable for any compensation toward the other party.
However, this does not mean that the more at-fault party has to pay 100% compensation. Say the less at-fault party is asking for $50,000 in damages. If one side is 80% at fault, and the other 20% at fault, that means the more at-fault party would pay $40,000, 80% of $50,000 to the opposite side.
How JD Haas & Associates Can Help You
At JD Haas & Associates, our expert team of legal attorneys can help you with your case. As a smaller firm, we are able to take the time to get to know each of our clients, which helps us provide you with the best possible legal services. If you are in need of legal help, please message us on our contact page, or call us at 952-345-1025.