Can I Still Recover Compensation if I Was Partly at Fault in the Accident?
If you were recently in an accident, you may wonder if you can recover compensation if you are partly at fault. While each state has its own partial liability laws, in Tennessee, you can recoup damages if you are less than 50% at fault. Insurance companies may try to attribute more fault to you, so working with a Nashville car accident attorney is essential.
How is Fault Determined in a Car Accident?
Car accidents often result from negligence—failing to take proper care. A successful claim depends on proving four elements of negligence:
Duty of Care
Every driver must follow traffic laws to keep others safe, such as stopping at red lights, following speed limits, and yielding right-of-way.
Breach of Duty
A driver violates their duty of care by failing to follow traffic laws. For example, running a red light breaches this duty.
Causation
The wrongful party’s actions must actually and proximately cause your injuries. Actual cause means the actions set in motion a chain of events that harmed you; the “but for” test applies. (But for the driver not yielding, the collision wouldn’t have happened.)
If your injuries were a foreseeable result of their actions, this is a proximate cause. Both actual and proximate cause must be proven.
Damages
As a result of the harm you sustained, you must have suffered measurable losses. Damages that compensate you for your actual losses are known as compensatory damages. Compensatory damages may be economic (involve out-of-pocket costs) or non-economic (involve intangible losses that have no monetary value but impact your quality of life). In a car accident claim, economic damages may include lost wages, medical bills, and vehicle repairs. Non-economic damages may include pain and suffering, infliction of emotional distress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In rare cases, you may be entitled to punitive damages. To receive them, you must prove the other party acted intentionally, maliciously, recklessly, or fraudulently. Punitive damages punish and deter wrongful conduct. In Tennessee, they are capped at twice the compensatory damages or $500,000, whichever is greater.
Tennessee Law on Comparative Negligence
Fault is often not clear in car accidents. In Tennessee, if you are less than 50% at fault, you may recover damages under TN Code §29-39-102(b). For example, one driver may run a red light while the other speeds. If either party is 50% or more at fault, recovery is barred.
Insurance companies often try to assign you extra fault to avoid paying. A Nashville car accident lawyer will review your case and gather evidence showing the other driver’s liability. Don’t handle this alone—a lawyer knows how insurers operate and what steps lead to a successful claim.
Contact a Nashville Car Accident Attorney Today
If you have recently been in a crash and assigned fault, the legal team at Raybin & Weissman would like to speak with you. Our attorneys understand the importance of recovering the full extent of damages after an accident. For 40 years, our Nashville car accident lawyers have been advocating for injured parties with great success. We take a personal interest in each case and see it through to the end. If you are interested in scheduling a free consultation, contact us online or by phone at (615) 256-6666.