Since Missouri uses a pure comparative negligence rule, if you are in an accident and are found to be partially responsible, the amount of compensation you can recover from the other driver will be reduced by a percentage in proportion to your fault in the accident.
If you are in an auto accident in Missouri, it is important to understand that there are times when more than one person can be found partially responsible and liable for an automobile accident. If you are found to be partially at fault, this means that while you were not solely to blame for the accident happening, you do bear some of the responsibility.
Missouri Uses a Pure Comparative Negligence Rule
An accident happens due to “negligence.” Negligence is a legal term that implies that someone did something directly to cause an accident. It might also mean that someone failed to do something, and that led to the accident.
One such instance would be if someone failed to act as a reasonable person would, and it was that failure to act led directly to the accident. There are times when both drivers might contribute to the accident by both being partially negligent, which would make them both liable for the damages and injuries.
For instance, if you were driving through an intersection and someone pulled out in front of you, then the other driver – who didn’t yield and was subsequently hit – was negligent for the accident because they didn’t anticipate you not having enough time to stop. However, if you were going 20 miles over the speed limit while going through the intersection, then even if the other driver had stopped, they would likely not have had enough time to pull out or they simply miscalculated how much time they had due to your speed. In that scenario, both drivers would be partially negligent.
Since Missouri uses a pure comparative negligence rule, if you are in an accident and are found to be partially responsible, the amount of compensation you can recover from the other driver will be reduced by a percentage in proportion to your fault in the accident.
How Is Comparative Negligence Calculated?
In situations where both parties bear partial responsibility, the accident is evaluated according to the events, and each driver is ascribed a certain percentage of fault. That percentage is then used to calculate how much each driver contributed. Once the total of both economic and non economic damages are calculated, the parties are each responsible for paying for their “portion” of negligence that they contributed.
Although it’s not an exact calculation, when there is more than one party involved in an accident, it is the only way to make sure that one person isn’t left holding the financial burden if they are not solely to blame.