I Might Have Been Partly To Blame — Can I Still Claim?

The general rule in personal injury law is that a claimant can make a compensation claim against a third party that was responsible for his or her injuries. This is because the third party owes the claimant a duty of care and as a result of their negligence the claimant has suffered an injury. There must be actual loss suffered. But there is a thing called contributory negligence.

Contributory Negligence Claims

There are however circumstances where the defendant is not entirely to blame for the claimant’s injuries, and therefore it would be unjust for the claimant to be able to get the full amount of compensation. Consider the example of a road traffic accident in which the innocent driver is not wearing a seatbelt and whose injuries are exacerbated because of this.

This is known as contributory negligence. In this scenario, the claimant can make a claim against the defendant’s insurance company, however the amount of compensation that the claimant can claim will be reduced to take into account his or her own negligence.

A claimant cannot make a claim for a ‘near miss’ and the claimant cannot make a claim if they are wholly responsible for his or her injuries.

Any compensation claim should be made with the assistance of our personal injury solicitors ** in Bolton. We will — on a no win, no fee* basis — help to establish whether the claimant is at fault for his or her injuries and by what proportion.

It is important to have an experienced personal injury solicitor ** doing this on the claimant’s behalf. Defendants, usually insurance companies, will try to increase the claimant’s responsibility as much as they possibly can when a claimant has been contributory negligent.

If you have been in an accident that was not your fault or if you are not sure whether it is your fault and by how much, then you should seek the guidance of a personal injury solicitor **. You should do so within three years of the date of the accident, otherwise you may become barred from bringing a claim entirely.

Contact our Personal Injury Claims Solicitors in Bolton

Call us on 01204 802 050^ or if you prefer you can also contact us online for more information.

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