When you sustain a serious personal injury accident, you may play the events over and over in your mind. This is because you may be searching for an answer as to why this happened in the first place, or better yet, who caused this to happen. When you come to a clear realization, you may want to act on it by pursuing legal action. Continue reading to learn what role negligence plays in your case and how an experienced Leonardtown personal injury lawyer at The Dorsey Law Firm can help you assign it to the appropriate party or parties.
What role does negligence play in my personal injury case?
If you are accusing another party of being at fault for your accident, you are accusing them of acting negligently. And because of their negligence, you are now making them the defendant of your personal injury claim. Further, you are fighting for them to financially compensate you for the injuries and damages you incurred as a direct result of your accident. This is all to say that, without negligence, there is no personal injury case to be had in the first place.
Can multiple parties be negligent in my personal injury case?
More than one party could have acted negligently in your personal injury accident, and therefore multiple defendants could serve as the defendants in your personal injury case. For example, if yours is a car accident case, one driver may have been speeding and another driver may have been tailgating in the moments leading up to your ultimate collision. Then, the civil court may find the speeding driver to be 70 percent at fault and the tailgating driver 30 percent at fault. In the end, the court may order the speeding driver to pay for 70 percent of your economic and non-economic losses and the tailgating driver to pay the remaining 30 percent.
In a similar vein, you may not be the only party who was made the victim of a personal injury accident. Therefore, you may not be the only plaintiff in your case. This may work to your advantage, as your pooled resources and witnesses may make for a stronger case in proving the negligence of the defendant(s). Importantly, this may all work out so long as you and the other plaintiffs are absolutely absolved from any fault in the matter. This is because the state of Maryland still follows the contributory negligence doctrine. With this, even being one percent at fault in the incident may completely bar you from any amount of financial compensation.
We strongly encourage you to retain the services of a skilled Leonardtown personal injury lawyer. You may do so by scheduling an initial consultation with The Dorsey Law Firm today.
