Can You Claim Compensation if the Accident Was Your Fault?

Car accidents can be more complicated than you might think. While it looks like one person was definitely the one who caused the wreck, it could be another person entirely, or it could be a company’s fault for their negligence. However, what about when you’re at fault?

If you still suffered injuries and other damages, you might be wondering if you can still claim compensation after an accident that was your fault. Luckily, we have your answers. Let’s take a look at Mississippi fault laws so you can find out if you’re able to financially recover from your crash.

Mississippi Fault Laws for Car Accidents

After an accident that was your fault, but you still sustained injuries and damages that might not have been your fault, you’re likely wondering if you can claim compensation. While it’s complicated, you might actually be able to recover compensation in Mississippi. Our comparative negligence laws could allow you to file a claim.

Comparative fault means that even though you were at fault for an accident, it’s determined what percentage of fault you contributed and the percentage of fault that the other party contributed to the accident as well. In Mississippi, we follow pure comparative negligence rule, which means that if you were less than 100 percent at fault for what happened, you can recover damages.

This means that even if you were 99 percent at fault for the collision, you can still collect the 1 percent of damages you weren’t at fault for from the other party.

For example, if you were speeding and distracted at the time of the collision, you will be considered mostly at fault for what happened. But if the other party involved in the collision was also speeding, distracted, or making another error behind the wheel, then they could also be considered at fault.

In this case, you would both be liable for what happened, and your lawyers, the judge, and a jury would work to determine the amount of fault each of you are responsible for.

Proving Fault in a Car Accident Claim

Pure comparative fault means your attorney will have plenty of work to do to prove the fault of the other party. This is one of the main jobs of a personal injury lawyer, like a car accident lawyer, when an accident happens—proving fault. Typically, a lawyer would focus on proving these four elements:

• One party owed another a duty of care
• The one party breached that duty of care through their negligence
• That breach led to the other party suffering from injuries
• Those injuries caused them to suffer damages

While these are the basic elements of proving fault, things can get a bit more complicated when there isn’t only one party at fault. Since both parties could share the fault in Mississippi, this means a lawyer will be fighting to prove the other side was more at fault than their client.

Proving fault is done through evidence. Your lawyer will collect evidence from the accident that you’ve provided and that they’ve worked to collect to minimize your fault as much as possible and prove the other party shared that blame.

It’s important to note that if there is evidence that shows you were at fault, they won’t lie to make it seem like you were not at fault at all. They will simply work to minimize the percentage you were at fault as much as possible. For example, proving you were 90 percent at fault rather than 100.

Evidence in Your Car Accident Claim

You might be wondering what kind of evidence your car accident lawyer will use to prove that you weren’t fully at fault for the wreck. Evidence is crucial in your claim because it will prove that you weren’t the only one at fault—the other party’s negligence contributed to what happened.

Here are some of the forms of evidence that your attorney will use to prove you were not completely responsible for the accident:

• Police report
• Medical records
• Bills and repair costs
• Photographs
• Videos
• Traffic cameras
• Witness statements
• Accident reconstructions
• Experts
• Weather records

All of these factors can help you and your lawyer prove that while you were at fault for what happened, you don’t shoulder the complete blame. If you can prove that the other party was even 1 percent at fault for what happened, then you can recover compensation.

In many accidents, both parties did something wrong. While one party is mainly at fault, and made the biggest mistakes behind the wheel, the other party could have made a mistake too that made them susceptible to the accident, like checking their phone.

Whether it was a car accident, truck accident, or any other kind of collision that you were involved in, having a lawyer on your side is vital. You’ll want to be up front and honest with your attorney so that they can take your fault and calculate it appropriately so it informs them on how much fault the other party or parties had.

You Can Count on Pittman Roberts & Welsh, PLLC

Immediately after an accident that was your fault, you might think you don’t have any options for recovering compensation. But if the other party was at fault, Mississippi law allows you to recover from the accident as well. At Pittman Roberts & Welsh, PLLC, we understand that this is a confusing time and you’re likely focusing on your physical and emotional recovery.

Your financial recovery shouldn’t have to suffer though, which is where our Jackson car accident lawyers comes in. We’ll evaluate what happened and use your evidence to prove that you weren’t 100 percent responsible for what happened.

Reach out to our office today so we can schedule a free consultation to discuss your potential claim.