Comparative Negligence and New York Personal Injury
Many car accidents are relatively straight-forward to understand. If, for instance, a person driving under the influence got into an auto accident with someone who was following all road rules and regulations, it is not hard to see who will be held liable for the accident. Still, not all cases are this simple. There are several cases where two or more drivers may be held partially at-fault for an auto accident. When these cases happen in the state of New York, the rule of comparative negligence may apply. Read on to find out more.
Stick to the Facts
Most people have been raised to apologize after any altercations they have been involved in, even if they were not the ones to initiate them. Unfortunately, this means that many people apologize for things they did not do after car accidents. It is a natural instinct to want to say sorry and feel guilty after being involved in an auto accident. You should avoid doing this at 
all costs, however, as this can easily be misconstrued as an admission of guilt. Immediately after an accident, you should only stick to the facts. This may feel unnatural and cold, but it is the best way to protect yourself from any unwarranted claims of liability.
This is true no matter who you are talking to, whether it be the police, the other driver, your insurer, the other party’s insurer, or even on social media. Remember that insurance claims adjusters are professional investigators who are specifically trained to find anything that would allow them to deny your claim. It is not uncommon for social media profiles to be rifled through or even subpoenaed, so it is best to avoid discussing the accident online at all. You may even want to consider refraining from posting altogether until your auto accident claim has been finalized.
I Was at Partial Fault. Now What?
Of course, there may be some cases where you really were partially at fault for your accident. Not to worry: Since New York is a pure comparative negligence state, this will not affect your ability to recover any compensation for your losses. In other words, you can still pursue compensation for 1% of damages even if you were at fault for 99% of the accident.
To determine partial fault, courts will compare and analyze each party’s negligence in deep detail. They then use that information to assign each driver a percentage of fault. Drivers will then have their compensation reduced by that percentage. For example, a driver that is 60% at fault for the accident will have their compensation reduced to 40%.
Seeking Legal Help
Were you or a loved one recently injured in a car accident? We at Gattuso & Ciotoli, PLLC may be able to help. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced Syracuse car accident lawyers. We draw on over 50 years of combined legal experience to serve personal injury victims as best we can. We proudly serve the Central New York area, including Syracuse, Syracuse, Watertown, Binghamton, North Syracuse, Camillus, Liverpool, Cortland, and Auburn.