Car Accidents: Can You Claim Compensation If You're Partly At Fault?

If you're involved in a car accident, but partly at fault, you may still be entitled to compensation. To receive the payments you deserve, seek out legal counsel from NSW traffic accident lawyers. These professionals will conduct a thorough review of your case to see what sort of damages you're entitled to.

Still, it helps to know the law when you're in such a situation. In fact, you may be surprised that your insurance company likely won't deny payments even if it finds you acted somewhat negligibly.

Calculating how your actions contributed to an accident is quite difficult.

When you're partly to blame

Your role in the accident largely dictates what sort of payments you'll receive. The insurance company will assess the accident and calculate how much your actions contributed to the incident. Then, it will deduct a certain percentage of your benefits based on the results.

Calculating these percentages can be quite complex. For example, suppose you weren't wearing your seatbelt at the time of the accident at a four-way intersection. You had a green light while the person who hit your vehicle had a red light.

The evidence would show that you adhered to the rules of the road. However, one could argue that the severity of your injuries was partly due to the fact that you neglected to wear your seatbelt. It's a complicated process, one that your lawyer will be better equipped to handle.

These types of cases often warrant legal advice because insurance companies have a wide range of resources and knowledge at their disposal. While you may understand the general stipulations of your policy and how to argue your case, your knowledge pales in comparison to that of a legal team with experience arguing accident cases.

Examples of how you could partly be at fault

If you're not a lawyer or an insurance agent, it can be very difficult to determine whether you were partly at fault. The NSW Motor Accidents Authority (MAA) maintained that you would be partially held responsible for an accident if you were:

 *   Driving at an unsafe speed
 *   Travelling in an automobile despite knowing the operator was under the influence of drugs or alcohol
 *   Neglecting to wear a helmet when riding either a motorbike or bicycle

When discerning liability in any one of these situations, lawyers can provide favourable context. For example, if you were in a vehicle operated by someone who had one drink, your legal counsellor may be able to argue that you believed the effects of the beverage had worn off.
Your actions behind the wheel will ultimately determine your fault.

Accepting liability with contributory negligence

As mentioned above, you can still obtain payments when your insurer accepts liability for the accident, but also asserts your actions contributed to the injuries you sustained during the incident.

Regardless of the extent of your injuries, the aim is to obtain the payments and treatments you require to recover. The purpose of rehabilitation, under NSW law, is to "return the injured person to a level of function and quality of life comparable to their pre-injury level".

What if you can't regain the same function you had before the incident? In this case, rehab programs can help you develop techniques and skills that enable you to function independently. When undergoing treatment, you must consistently demonstrate a commitment to the program as well as a desire to return to work, according to the MAA.

Your physician, therapist and insurer ultimately determine which sort of treatments you'll need to recover, but your NSW accident lawyer can ensure you receive the care you require. Don't hesitate to speak with such professionals if you find yourself in similar a situation. Also, find a legal team that adheres to a 'no win, no fee' policy, by which the lawyers absorb the up-front costs and subtract these expenses from the final settlement.