When assessing cause, some car accidents are straightforward while others are more complicated. If yours falls into the latter category, then you might be worried about what a determination of fault may have on your case. It’s a legitimate concern, too, given that Virginia recognizes pure contributory negligence. This means that if you are found to be partially at fault for the crash, regardless of how little you contributed to the wreck, you will be denied compensatory recovery.
That’s a scary standard to think about as you consider taking legal action against a negligent driver who caused your accident and thus your injuries. After all, it leaves little room for error, and the defense might throw several accusations your way in hopes of one of them sticking to deny you the judgment you deserve. So, if you’re worried about fault in your accident, what can you do to protect your interests? Let’s take a closer look at some steps you can take to shore up the viability of your claim.
How to address contributory negligence in your personal injury case
Although you might feel like you’re at a disadvantage as you navigate fault in your personal injury case, there are steps you can take to better protect yourself from the defense’s arguments. This includes:
- Being mindful of what you should and shouldn’t say: Far too often personal injury cases are defeated on statements that the victim made. For example, a victim might apologize after an accident or indicate that they shouldn’t have been driving so fast. These statements can be extremely damaging to your case. Think before you speak so that you don’t end up saying something that will come back to bite you later.
- Scrutinize the evidence: Anticipation of the defense’s arguments is going to be key in your case. Only by thoroughly analyzing the evidence will you be able to figure out where your case is vulnerable and where the defense may attack. Then, you can gather evidence and work to craft effective counter arguments.
- Engage in discovery: By finding out what the other side knows, and deposing witnesses to figure out how they’ll testify, you can find information that may help or hurt your case. You’ll want to be thorough here so that you’re not taken by surprise at trial.
- Refrain from using social media: While a great place to connect with others and to vent your frustrations, social media can be a dangerous place to post when you’re in the middle of a personal injury lawsuit. Your statements and your pictures can be used against you to demonstrate that you somehow contributed to the accident in question, or even to show that your injuries aren’t as severe as you claim them to be. You don’t want to do yourself a disservice by creating and handing over evidence to the defense.
Mitigate the risk of a contributory negligence finding in your car accident case
You have to aggressively advocate for the outcome that you want. While you have to be cognizant of the risk of a contributory negligence finding, you shouldn’t let it scare you away from taking warranted legal action.
You simply have to develop strong legal arguments that are supported by the facts and the evidence. That can be a stressful process to think about, especially while you’re trying to focus on your recovery, but there are places you can turn for help in getting through this difficult time.