When you get injured in a car accident in the Prairie State, Illinois’ modified comparative fault law can have a major impact on your ability to recover financial compensation for your accident-related losses. This raises a critical question:
What amount of compensation are you actually entitled to receive?
The answer to this question depends on your individual circumstances. Generally speaking, car accident victims are entitled to compensation for their financial and non-financial losses. If an at-fault driver (or another responsible party) was 100% at fault in your accident, then you are entitled to recover 100% of your losses. But, if you were partially at fault in your accident, this is where Illinois’ modified comparative fault law comes into play.
Illinois’ modified comparative fault law applies when a car accident victim is partially responsible for his or her own injuries. Depending on the victim’s percentage of fault, the law can reduce the amount of the victim’s financial recovery, or it can potentially prevent the victim from recovering financial compensation entirely. As the Illinois Department of Insurance (DOI) explains:
“Illinois has adopted modified comparative negligence (735 ILCS 5/2-1116) as the standard for recovery of damages. Under modified comparative negligence, an injured party may recover damages only if he/she is less than 50% at fault for the injury or damages. However, the recovered amount may be reduced in proportion to the degree that the injured party was at fault.”
To see how this works, we can consider a couple of hypothetical examples. First, let’s say you were involved in a car accident. You were speeding slightly, but the driver who hit you was driving recklessly and traveling well over the posted speed limit at the time of the crash.
If an investigation reveals that your speed played a role in causing the accident or increasing the severity of your injuries, Illinois’ modified comparative fault law will apply. Here, it would certainly appear that the other driver was primarily at fault, so you would likely still be entitled to partial compensation for your losses. If the evidence suggests that you were, say, 10% at fault, you would be entitled to recover 90 percent of your accident-related losses.
Now, let’s change the scenario. Let’s say you and the other driver were both distracted, and you both ran stop signs resulting in a head-on collision. An investigation reveals that you and the other driver were equally at fault in the crash.
Since Illinois’ modified comparative fault law only allows car accident victims to recover financial compensation when they are “less than 50% at fault,” if you and the other driver were equally at fault, you would not be entitled to any financial compensation.
In light of the significant role that Illinois’ modified comparative fault law can play in car accident cases, accurately determining fault is a key step in the process of assessing your legal rights. You should not rely on the insurance companies to determine fault for you. The insurance companies do not have your best interests in mind; instead, their investigation will be focused on gathering the evidence they need to dispute liability.
To make informed decisions about your legal rights, you will need to hire a lawyer to conduct an unbiased investigation focused on ascertaining all of the relevant facts. Your percentage of fault (if any) will play a major role in determining your next steps and how much (if any) you are entitled to seek in a settlement. You cannot afford to take chances, and you do not want to make any assumptions when it comes to your legal rights.
If the evidence gathered during your lawyer’s investigation indicates that you are entitled to financial compensation, your lawyer will use this evidence to negotiate for a favorable settlement on your behalf. If the insurance companies attempt to deny your claim or reduce the value of your settlement based on allegations of partial fault, your lawyer will be able to deal with these attempts on your behalf. Whether you are entitled to recover 100% of your losses or the value of your claim is reduced based on partial fault, you can rely on your lawyer to fight for the compensation you deserve.
Do you have concerns about being deemed partially at fault in a car accident? If so, we can help you understand and protect your legal rights.
Contact the Chicago car accident lawyers at Coplan + Crane today online or at (312) 982-0588 for a FREE case evaluation. We help clients across Illinois, including Chicago, Oak Park, Rockford, and other areas. We handle car accident cases on a contingency basis, which means you don’t pay unless we win.
