Motor Vehicle Accident Causing Bicyclist's Loss Of Leg Ends Up In $45o,000 Recovery
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-09-18 22:32:12 | Word Count: 518
Okay, so you were injured in a motor vehicle accident. However you were to some extent, or perhaps even, largely at fault for causing the accident. Are you able to recover for your injuries? And if you can, what amount? The answer hinges on the place the accident happened.
Consider, for example, the published personal injury claim wherein a 19 year old woman was struck by a motor vehicle when she was crossing an intersection on her bicycle. The collison threw her from her bicycle and she was then hit and dragged by a second vehicle. She suffered a variety of serious injuries including an injury to her leg which required her to undergo an above the knee amputation. According to one report people who saw the accident happen pointed out that the woman went into the intersection without stopping for the red light. The law firm that took the case published that it took the lawsuit to trial. The jury found that the city and the first second driver were 13% at fault and the second driver twelve percent to blame.
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The jury found that the bicyclist plaintiff was seventy five percent to blame for the accident. In some States the law does not allow plaintiffs with more than 50 percent fault to recover any damages. The law in the State where this accident took place permitted the plaintiff to get compensation despite the fact that the jury determined that she was in excess of 50% at fault for the accident. However according to the pertinent State law the amount she could get would only be proportional to her level of fault. Thus, while the jury awarded $1.8 million, she was only able to recover twenty five percent, or $450,000.
Many people have the mistaken idea that if they were primarily to blame for a motor vehicle accident that they are not entitled to be compensated for their injuries. It is consequently critical if one is injured in a motor vehicle accident to contact an experienced motor vehicle accident attorney so as to establish whether they are right in their view that they were mostly responsible or whether, by law, another person was in fact at fault. And even in the event the plaintiff was in fact legally at fault for the accident, the lawyer will advise them on whether the pertinent laws would even so permit the plaintiff to recover, and if so, how would the amount be decided.
Only an experienced lawyer can accurately evaluate a possible claim under the pertinent laws. Moreover, an experienced attorney will also know the range of awards juries in the location where the matter would be tried normally award for the plaintiff's injuries.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting bicycle accident cases. To learn more about how a bicycle accident attorney or a vehicle accident lawyer may be able to help you visit his website
