After you are involved in a car accident that you believe was not your fault, you may wonder how you can recover compensation for your medical costs and other accident-related expenses.
This is done through a personal injury action alleging that the other driver was negligent. You must prove negligence to recover compensation.
The four elements of negligence
The general legal definition of negligence is a failure to exercise a degree of care that a reasonable person would in similar circumstances. Establishing negligence requires proving four elements:
- Duty
- Breach
- Causation
- Damages
You must show the other driver owed you a duty of care to act reasonably. In a car accident case, this usually means driving safely and in a manner that avoids foreseeable harm to others.
Next, you must prove the driver failed in this duty by not driving the way a reasonable person would in the circumstances.
Proving the third element of causation can be challenging. The breach of duty must have directly caused the accident and the harm you suffered must be a foreseeable result of the driver’s actions.
Finally, you must show your damages. Examples include physical injuries, emotional distress or other financial losses. Damages are often proved through documentation, such as medical bills or financial statements.
How comparative negligence works
Missouri follows a comparative negligence rule. This means that any negligence of your own could decrease the amount of compensation you receive.
For example, perhaps you were hit head on by a car who ran through a green light and suffered $200,000 in damages. However, the other driver may prove that you were speeding while going through the green light, which contributed to the accident.
A court may determine that the other driver was 90% at fault for the accident and you were 10% at fault. In that case, you would only recover $180,000 in damages.
For those in the St. Louis area, if your accident happened on the eastern side of the metro, Illinois follows a similar comparative negligence rule, allowing a plaintiff to recover damages so long as their share of the fault is less than 50%.
Although comparative negligence usually allows you to recover some compensation even if you were partially at fault for the accident, the stronger case you have for the other driver’s negligence, the greater your recovery.