The answer to your question depends on whether your car crash occurred in Missouri or Kansas.
Comparative Fault in Missouri Car Crashes
Missouri has a pure comparative fault law. That means that if you are the plaintiff in a lawsuit and you were partly at fault for the crash, your car accident compensation will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you. The law exists because it would be unfair for a defendant to pay for the part of your injuries that you caused yourself.
The percentage of fault will be decided during settlement negotiations or in court. If, for example, you are found to be 30% responsible for the crash, and your recovery is $100,000, your recovery would be reduced by 30%, and your compensation would be $70,000.
Since Missouri is a pure comparative fault law, you can technically file a case against someone else even if you were 99% responsible for the crash, and the other person was 1% responsible for the crash. However, if you were primarily responsible for the accident, you should talk to a lawyer about filing a lawsuit before taking any action.
Comparative Fault in Kansas Car Crashes
Kansas law also allows you to file a lawsuit if you were partially responsible for the crash, but it is not exactly the same as Missouri law. In Kansas, as in Missouri, your recovery will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you. However, in Kansas, you may only recover damages if you are less than 50% responsible for the crash.
Protect Your Fair Recovery After Any Kansas City Auto Accident
In many car accidents, more than one driver is at fault. Sometimes these cases are complicated, and often, injured parties benefit from contacting an experienced Kansas City car accident lawyer. Our legal team will thoroughly review all of the facts of your case and advocate for your full and fair recovery. We expect that the percentage of fault attributed to you and the other driver will be contested, and we will be ready with the evidence and arguments to protect your rights.
Call us or complete our online contact form to have us contact you for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
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