This article discusses the California fault and negligence system in place and how this affects filing for a personal injury lawsuit or insurance claim as well as associated damages.

1. California’s Fault and Negligence
System

3. An article posted on the website thyblackman.com had a topic, “Driving while intoxicated is a bad
idea, and here’s why”. The article discussed statistics in respect of drunk driving and one of these
were that in 2016 an average of 10000 people were killed as a result of drunk driving accidents and
the majority were not in the offender’s vehicle. The numbers also included pedestrians caught up in
the accidents.
In respect of determining the fault in a drunk driving accident an injured person can file for
charges either by way of a lawsuit or a claim the insurance company of the at fault driver. An
attorney and spokesperson from the Timothy J. Ryan & Associates law firm stated that “the state of
California is an at fault state. In line with determining the legal responsibility for a car accident the
person bringing or filing a lawsuit or making an insurance claim for damages must prove the
negligence of the other driver”. While the plaintiff is able to do this, the defendant can still avoid
part of his or her liability for the accident and this is determined by the systems used in the state.
It must be noted that while California is an at fault state, it follows the comparative negligence
system. The comparative negligence system allocates fault between parties. Under the comparative
negligence system a defendant or at fault driver can raise a partial defense stating that the plaintiff
was partially to blame for the accident as well. According to the Cornell Law School - Legal
Information Institute the comparative negligence rule is defined as “a tort rule for allocating
damages when both parties are at least somewhat at fault. In a situation where both the plaintiff
and defendant was negligent the jury allocates fault, usually as in percentage (for example, a jury
might find that a plaintiff was 30% at fault and the defendant was 70% at fault) then each pays their
share of the others damages (in the above example, the plaintiff pays 30% of the defendant’s
damages, and defendant pays 70% of the plaintiff’s damages)”.

4. There are two comparative negligence rules, modified comparative negligence and pure
comparative negligence. The state of California uses the pure comparative negligence law.
“In the pure comparative negligence jurisdictions, victims of an accident can recover
some compensation for their injuries despite how negligent they were in their own
driving even where the degree of fault is higher than the defendant’s degree of
fault. Therefore, the defendant is able to recover part of the damages he or she has
sustained as well as share his or her liability for the accident.
An example of the comparative negligence rule is where by Abigail is driving on the
highway and indicates her intention to change lanes to the left. Robert is driving in the
same direction and hits into Abigail as she changes lanes. After an analysis, it is found
that Abigail’s vehicle blinker lights are not working and Robert was driving over the speed
limit. Therefore, Abigail is partially at fault for the accident and so is Robert. A jury may
decide that Abigail is 20% at fault for the accident while Robert is 80% responsible for the
accident. Either Abigail or Robert can file for damages from the other. When it comes to
the payment of damages Robert would pay 80% of Abigail’s damages while Abigail would
pay 20% off Robert’s damages. These damages may be medical bills and vehicle repairs.
If you have been involved in a car accident and want to claim of personal injury damages
seek out an Orange County car accident attorney lawyer.

5. About the company:
Timothy J. Ryan & Associates is a law firm of renowned
professionals who specialize in personal injury law as well as
criminal law. Their professionals possess vast experience in
the law and have a track record of success in the courtroom
since 1981. For more information contact Tjryanlaw.Com
Source : http://www.prfree.org/news-california-
s-fault-and-negligence-system-420249.html