{"id":1357,"date":"2023-11-10T18:07:11","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T23:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsaslaw.com\/?p=1357"},"modified":"2023-12-01T16:08:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T21:08:24","slug":"pennsylvania-comparative-negligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsaslaw.com\/blog\/pa-comparative-negligence\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Comparative Negligence and Accident Liability Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you suffered a personal injury that caused you to miss work, rack up medical bills, and maybe even lose the use of your car or truck? Pennsylvania comparative negligence laws are in place to help you financially recover from this type of loss. You don\u2019t have to navigate these laws alone.  The legal team at GSAS<\/a> can help you understand how Pennsylvania comparative negligence laws could apply to your situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is \u201cNegligence?\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the center of nearly every court case is the question of negligence. This generally means that one person (the plaintiff) accuses another person or company (the defendant) of creating a situation that involves a potential risk of injury to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Many people assume that negligence is intentional but that is not always the case.  A person or company may not have intended to create a situation that would lead to someone being harmed, but they can still be found negligent if an accident were to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was I Negligent?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To understand how Pennsylvania negligence laws apply to your <\/em>situation, you need to understand what they are. If you were injured in some way, the court will need to decide what part of your actions contributed to that injury. Perhaps you came to an unexpected stop on a busy road or you used a piece of equipment in a way that it was not intended to be used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In those cases, a Pennsylvania court could find you to be comparatively negligent for your own injury. In short, it means that your actions (or inaction) played some role in your injury. This is an important determination because it could affect the final amount of compensation that you could be eligible to receive.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defining Negligence in Pennsylvania<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Pennsylvania, a court will consider comparative negligence<\/strong>. The law regarding Pennsylvania comparative negligence can be found in Pennsylvania state code 42 Pa C.S.A. \u00a7 7102<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The law can be summed up like this: While Kevin is driving, he is also checking Snapchat. Sally drives her dump truck out of a construction site directly in front of Kevin. An accident occurs totaling Kevin\u2019s car. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though Kevin was a distracted driver, Sally\u2019s casual negligence of pulling directly into traffic was the root cause of the accident. Her negligence in the incident is greater than Kevin\u2019s and she would be responsible for compensating him for his losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Numbers Game<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence laws, numbers matter. Particularly the number that the court assigns to your percentage of fault in the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In simple terms, say that you were involved in an accident at a business, and take a case to court to recover damages related to the accident. You win your court case and damages are assessed at $1,000. But the court finds that you were 25% at fault for the accident. This cuts the amount you will receive down to $750.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who\u2019s At Fault<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to understand the term \u201cAt Fault\u201d<\/a> as it plays a key role in Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence law. If a person or business is deemed to be at fault then the court has decided that the individual is responsible in some part for the incident. More than one party can be found to be at fault for a single incident. Even the \u201cvictim\u201d of an accident could be found to be at fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Pennsylvania negligence cases, a person can win a case and also be found by the court to be at fault for some part of the accident. If a person is found to be at fault for more than 50% of the incident before the court, the total amount that they can receive from the plaintiff drops to $0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is Fault Decided?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is no special formula for deciding fault in a court case. A judge, or jury, will need to review all of the facts of the case and compare those to the laws in place. For example, if a person were rear-ended you might think that the driver of the car who hit the car in front of them would be assigned 100% of the fault. But if the incident occurred because the driver of the car in front did not advance on a green light or because they stopped short, that driver may be assigned a percentage of the fault as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another example is a business that has an area that is a potential tripping hazard. They put up a caution sign when the issue was discovered several weeks ago, but otherwise have not addressed the root cause. Person A ignores the warning sign, enters the space and falls. Fault may be decided evenly as both parties were negligent in their actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proving Fault<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a legal proceeding, it is not enough to simply tell your story to prove the fault of the other party involved. While that is<\/em> an important part of the case, your lawyer will want to support it with evidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acceptable evidence includes:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n