At Rosenberg & Rodriguez, our personal injury lawyers have dedicated their careers to protecting the rights of accident victims. If you have been injured because of someone else’s negligence, let us take care of your legal concerns while you are recovering from your injuries. Call today for a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our skilled personal injury attorneys.

New York is what is called a comparative fault state. Under comparative fault, the compensation of an accident victim can be reduced by the percentage of fault that is assigned to the victim for having caused the accident. For example, if you are involved in a car accident and the case cannot be settled with the insurance company and goes to trial, the jury will be asked to determine who is at fault for causing the accident. Under New York law, more than one party can be at fault for causing an accident. If the jury determines that you contributed 50 percent to the causing of the accident, the jury will then determine the total compensation you deserve for your injuries and damages. If, for example, the jury determines that your damages total $100,000, your final award will be reduced by 50% to account for your contribution for causing the accident. Thus, you would end up with an award of $50,000.

Determining who caused an accident, can be complicated and difficult. Often the involved parties will have differing versions of what occurred. Insurance companies will take advantage of any disputes on how the accident happen to either refuse to pay or to only offer a small percentage of the value of a case. This is why it is important to immediately seek out an experienced accident attorney to conduct a thorough investigation of the accident (contacting witnesses; obtaining surveillance videos; taking photos; hiring experts, etc.) to determine who was actually at fault.