Who's at Fault? Juries Can Divide Up the Blame
When it comes to nursing home abuse or neglect, a jury's decision is generally pretty clear. Either the home is wrong or it isn't. Patients have physical or mental problems and seldom contribute in any measurable way to the situation that left them worse off. However, that's not always true in other kinds of personal injury cases.
Take a case where an animal bites you. If you provoked the attack, you may not have any claim at all.
And let's suppose you get attacked in a bar. That could get complicated. When the bouncers tried to throw you out, did you fight back, leading them to use extra force? Or did that extra force get excessive to the point of increasing the liability of the bar and its employees? And what did you do when the burly drunk got out of hand? We've all seen video of the woman bartender being kicked repeatedly. The attack may have been excessive but did the bartender do something that caused it?
In cases of shared blame, the jury can assign partial responsibility to each party. If it decides, for example, that the plaintiff was 25 percent responsible, it can cut down the potential claim by that percentage diminishing a claim for, say, $1,000,000 to an award of $750,000.
So even if you contributed in some way to your injury, don't let self-blame get in the way of getting justice you deserve. When in doubt, consult with an attorney. Their experience will help them tell you whether your personal injury claim is worth pursuing.
Michael Kosner, President
The Kosner Firm Chtd.
