Can I claim personal injury compensation if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Yes, you can still make a claim for an incident where you were party to blame because this means that another party was also partly to blame. Your claim would most likely be settled on what is known as a “split liability” or “contributory negligence” basis which means that the total value of your injuries and losses would be assessed just with any normal claim and then a percentage would be deducted to account for your apportionment of blame or fault.
Most split liability or contributory negligence cases are open to negotiation and so, whilst it might not always be possible to obtain a full non-fault outcome, MG Legal are highly experienced in obtaining the best possible settlement and minimising any contributory negligence and we will do our best to ensure you receive the maximum possible award for your injuries.
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MG Legal accept all Personal Injury Compensation claims on a "No Win, No Fee" basis and have a success rate of over 99%
What if I was only partially at fault for the accident?
This happens, more often than you think. Often, road traffic accidents are very obviously the fault of one party. But on roundabouts, or road traffic accident arising out of lane changing, then often liability can be apportioned on a split liability basis, where both parties are partially to blame and neither is willing to accept full responsibility for the accident. In legal terms, liability means who is at fault for the accident and where parties can't agree, this is known as a 'liability dispute'.
In such instances, evidence gathering, as with all personal injury claims, is vital. Witness names and contact details are key, as are diagrams of the incident location, enabling our team of road traffic accident solicitors to visit the location of the incident, and see that a full report is carried out, with images showing your direction of travel, the road markings, and where your vehicle, at that of the other driver, came to a stop.
If investigations show that the road traffic accident may have been caused as a result of the negligence of one or more drivers, then it may be that an agreement is reached to apportion liability, on the best possible terms for our injured client. if liability is apportioned, the blame will be apportioned to each party as a percentage.
For example, if you were found 20% to blame for the accident, it would be an 80/20 split on liability in your favour, and you would therefore receive 80% of any monies required to repair or replace your vehicle, and, of
course, 80% of the full value of your claim for personal injury compensation. If parties are unable to reach an agreement on liability, the case would go to a liability hearing at court where a judge would make the decision.
How much compensation would I receive when there's a split in liability?
Compensation starts at 100%, and, subject to the parties to a road traffic accident agreeing to apportion liability, then damages for personal injury would reflect the apportionment, accordingly. So, for example, if you are injured in a road traffic accident and your damage were calculated at £20,000, but you were 25% at fault for the accident, then you would be awarded £15,000.