How Comparative Negligence Laws Can Affect Your Car Wreck Claim

Comparative negligence is the rule Rhode Island uses to divide fault after a car wreck. The amount of fault allocated for the crash directly impacts compensation. In the most basic terms, comparative negligence means that if you were partly to blame for an accident, you can still recover damages, but your compensation is reduced by your share of fault. To paraphrase R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-20-4: the fact that the person injured may not have been in the exercise of due care shall not bar a recovery, but damages shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person injured.

Determining fault after a car wreck is not always a simple task. In many cases, liability isn’t a clean 100/0 split. Knowing this, insurance adjusters may use comparative liability in an attempt to reduce compensation for victims of serious injury. When liability is contested, talking with a Providence car wreck lawyer can help to protect your claim and your right to seek the fair and full compensation you might be entitled to.

Call a Providence Car Wreck Lawyer for a FREE Consultation

If you have been injured in a car accident where liability is being contested or if you are getting the runaround from your insurance company after sustaining a serious injury, Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell is here to listen to your story. Call our Providence office at 401-273-8330 to schedule a FREE and confidential case review and learn more about your rights and options under Rhode Island’s comparative negligence rule.

The Leading Causes of Car Accidents

The leading causes of car crashes in Rhode Island and throughout the country are:

• Impaired Driving. Rhode Island has one of the highest shares of alcohol-impaired drivers in fatal crashes. Nationally, around 30% of crashes are alcohol-related. In Rhode Island, the rate is nearly 44%. And that’s only a look at fatal crashes. Thousands of alcohol-related car wrecks result in serious, life-altering injuries as well.
• Speeding. According to RIDOT, speeding is an “alarmingly high factor” in car crashes that result in serious or fatal injury. While it’s believed speeding is an underreported factor, it still plays a role in over 45% of fatal accidents in our state.
• Distracted Driving. While many people think of phones as the primary distraction in cars, distracted driving includes anything that takes your attention away from driving. This can include any visual, manual, or cognitive distractions such as eating, adjusting controls, personal grooming, and even talking to a passenger. Rhode Island has placed a ban on phones, which are a primary distraction, but other types of distracted driving, including the use of onboard electronics, remain legal. While legal, using a car infotainment system can cause distractions and be a basis for allocating fault.
• Other Frequent Factors. Additional causes of Rhode Island car wrecks include:
  • Failure to yield
  • Following too closely
  • Unsafe lane changes
  • Inclement weather
  • Road hazards
  • Vehicle defects

Each vehicle on the road is being driven by someone who might, at any moment, speed, look down to find a coffee cup, get a little too close in slick conditions, or engage in any number of actions that can lead to an accident.

According to one study, Rhode Island has the second-worst drivers in the country based on crash frequency alone. This means you may be at heightened risk for an accident just by driving in our state. It also means that the behavior of all involved parties will be carefully scrutinized by insurance companies looking to decline or diminish payouts. Having a car wreck lawyer on your side can help to ensure you are treated fairly and not assigned more blame than is appropriate for your accident.

How Is Liability Determined After a Car Wreck?

Liability often looks obvious at the scene, but once evidence is gathered, the picture can change dramatically. A thorough investigation can uncover hidden contributors that may shift fault, making comparative negligence a factor.

When you hire a car accident lawyer, they will work to collect evidence through various sources, which may include:

• Scene Recreation. Skid marks, yaw patterns, debris fields, and the final rest positions of all involved vehicles can help establish how the events unfolded.
• Vehicle Data. Most newer vehicles store pre-crash data like speed, throttle, and braking in their event data recorders.
• Video Sources. Nearby business surveillance systems, doorbell cameras, dash cams, traffic cams, and other sources of video recordings often capture key moments of an accident.
• Phone and Infotainment Logs. Data reflecting the use of a phone or infotainment system at the time of a crash can indicate distraction. Under Rhode Island’s hands-free law, use of a handheld device while driving is illegal. Evidence of cell phone or tablet use at the time of a crash can help to support negligence claims.
• Proof of Impairment. Breath tests, blood draws, refusal to submit to field sobriety tests, and prior service of alcohol can all prove negligence. In some instances, liability can even extend to bars and other establishments that served an intoxicated individual.
• Roadway and Vehicle Factors. Line-of-sight, deficient signage, signal timing, defective components, or maintenance gaps can add non-driver fault to the mix. When these factors are present, drivers who initially appear to be at fault might actually be victims themselves.

Fault can’t always be easily divided based on initial evaluations of the scene, police reports, or even witness statements. It often requires a full investigation into a crash to unearth all contributing factors. This can alter early assessments of comparative negligence and may open the door for more significant compensation.

At Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, our Providence car wreck lawyers conduct thorough investigations, working with accident reconstructionists when needed, to identify all contributing factors and fight for the comprehensive compensation our clients deserve.

What Happens When Multiple Parties Share Liability for a Car Wreck?

Rhode Island’s comparative negligence applies even when several people or entities contributed to a crash. Each party gets a fault percentage, which will impact their compensation.

Here are a few examples:

• You are in a crash with one other vehicle. You are assigned 20% of the blame. Your full award is $800,000. Your actual award, adjusted for your percentage of fault, is $640,000.
• You are in a crash with four other vehicles. Each party is assigned 25% of the blame. Your full award is $800,000. Your actual award, adjusted for your percentage of fault, is $600,000.

Rhode Island is one of only a handful of states to recognize joint and several liability. This means that one party may be made to pay the full judgment, but can then seek contribution from others after the fact. However, as with all things related to liability, it’s never a good idea to accept blame for a crash until after a proper investigation has been conducted. It’s always possible that the percentage of fault assigned to you is inaccurate or unfair.

How Our Providence Car Wreck Attorneys Can Help

At Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, our lawyers pair thorough investigations with trial-tested advocacy. It’s how we’ve represented injured Rhode Islanders for almost 50 years. We work quickly to secure evidence, working with independent accident reconstruction experts when needed, to turn questions about liability into measurable facts. This allows us to confront unfair fault arguments with data, not apologies. We are fully committed to uncovering what actually happened to make sure you’re fairly compensated for your injuries.

Schedule a FREE Consultation to Learn About Your Options

If a crash in Providence, Warwick, Cranston, Pawtucket, Newport, or elsewhere in Rhode Island has upended your life, Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell is here to help. Use our online contact form or call our office directly to request your FREE case review, where we can listen to your story, discuss comparative negligence, and help you determine the best way to move forward with your claim.