The Role of Negligence in Your Personal Injury Claim

When someone else hurts you or causes extensive damage to your personal property, state law allows you to file a personal injury claim against them. If a car crash or an accident on someone else’s property left you with thousands of dollars in property damage expenses, major medical bills or weeks of unpaid wages, you could ask for compensation for those losses.

A personal injury claim can help you cover those expenses. Establishing negligence is often a major part of a personal injury claim in Tennessee. How might negligence affect your claim?

If You Were Negligent, that Might Reduce Your Compensation

The idea of comparative negligence is that someone may not be at fault for a situation but may still have partial responsibility for the negative outcome they experienced. In Tennessee, comparative negligence may eventually reduce how much you receive for a personal injury claim. The percentage of fault you have will diminish the compensation you receive.

The Negligence of The Other Driver Is What Leads to A Lawsuit

Not every financial loss or injury is actionable in the civil courts. If insurance fully covers your expenses, you may not be in a position to take action. There also has to be a reason to take action against the other party.

Someone who believes another person or a business is responsible for their losses will need to show either misconduct or negligence to successfully seek compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. You will usually need to show that they did something against the law or that the average person would agree their behavior was unsafe or irresponsible.

Establishing that the other party was negligent and that you incurred provable losses can help you decide whether or not you have a valid personal injury claim.