Understanding Comparative Negligence in Construction Accident Cases in New York

If you have suffered an injury on a construction site in Long Island due to the contractor or subcontractor’s negligence, you have the right to file a personal injury or workers’ compensation claim. However, the contractor’s negligence will not be the only thing to be scrutinized. Because New York is a comparative negligence state, the court will consider your actions as well. Here’s what you need to know about how your own negligence, or lack thereof, will affect your case.

To be clear, you can still pursue your civil litigation and receive compensation regardless of your percentage of fault. However, the court will reduce the number of damages you would have otherwise received in proportion to your responsibility for the conduct that caused the accident and your injuries. In other words, your negligence is not even brought up in court until the jury is trying to decide how much money you will be awarded.

You can still file a motion for summary judgment on the liability of the other party.

At any moment, you can seek summary judgment and assert that the facts of the case or some aspects of the case are so apparent, so transparent, that they do not require hours of courtroom time to determine those aspects of the case. The ability to get a summary judgment saves the court a significant amount of time and money. It can also help you recover your damages faster. And, of course, it can improve your case each time the judge grants you a summary judgment on any issue.

Rodriguez v. City of New York is a recent case that influences how motions for summary judgment are made. The courts ruled in Rodriguez v. City of New York that the plaintiff does not have to prove the lack of their own comparative negligence to secure a summary judgment.

This is crucial because demonstrating a defendant’s liability is critical in a civil litigation case — and so is assessing the number of damages that should be awarded to the plaintiff. If your civil litigation attorney in Long Island can secure a summary judgment on your side, you have already won half the battle before even setting foot in a courtroom.

Recovery is determined by percentages.

There are a number of ways in which you can contribute to a construction accident and your own injuries. You may have taken a risk by performing certain actions or neglecting to take necessary safety precautions, such as failing to wear protective equipment while operating with heavy machinery.

The jury will consider what you did to cause the accident and how much of that action contributed to the end result. For example, they may decide that you are 30% to blame for the accident, and they would then reduce your compensation reward by 30%.

A construction litigation attorney will try to reduce the level of negligence that the jury assigns to you to maximize your compensation. So if you have been injured in a construction accident, go online and search for “the top construction litigation attorney near me.”

Sponsor Ads

• Ad Space Available - Rent it Now!

Report this Page

Created on Oct 28th 2021 04:26. Viewed 197 times.

Share on APSense

Comments