Accidents are not always entirely one person’s fault.
A driver may make an unsafe turn while the other driver is speeding. A business may fail to address a dangerous condition while an injured customer is accused of not paying attention.
When both sides may have contributed to an accident, Michigan’s comparative negligence rules can directly affect how much compensation an injured person can recover.
What Is Comparative Negligence in Michigan?
Comparative negligence is a system for dividing responsibility when more than one person’s conduct contributed to an injury.
Michigan law generally requires fault to be allocated among the people responsible for the injury. An injured person’s damages can then be reduced according to that person’s percentage of fault.
For example, suppose you suffer $100,000 in damages after an accident. If you are found 20% at fault, comparative negligence could reduce the recoverable amount associated with that allocation by 20%.
This makes the percentage of fault assigned to each party an important part of settlement negotiations and litigation.
What Happens If You’re More Than 50% at Fault?
Michigan has an especially important rule for noneconomic damages.
If the injured person is more than 50% at fault, Michigan law generally prevents that person from recovering noneconomic damages.
Noneconomic damages can include losses such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, disability-related effects, and loss of enjoyment of life.
If the injured person’s fault is 50% or less, those damages are generally reduced according to the person’s percentage of fault rather than automatically eliminated.
Economic damages are treated differently, making it important not to assume that being more than 50% responsible necessarily produces the same result for every category of damages.
How Does Comparative Fault Impact a Settlement?
Most personal injury cases resolve through settlements rather than a jury assigning an official percentage of fault.
That doesn’t make comparative negligence irrelevant.
Insurance companies may use allegations of partial responsibility to justify lower settlement offers. An adjuster might argue that you were speeding, distracted, following too closely, ignoring a hazard, or otherwise contributing to the accident.
Suppose an insurer values your damages at $150,000 but argues that you were 30% responsible. It may use that alleged percentage when evaluating what it believes the claim is worth.
The critical word is alleged. An insurer’s fault assessment is not automatically the final legal determination.
Who Decides the Percentage of Fault?
If a case proceeds to trial, the trier of fact can determine the percentages of fault based on the evidence.
Michigan law also allows fault to be allocated to certain nonparties. That means the analysis may extend beyond the plaintiff and the defendant actually named in the lawsuit.
Evidence can therefore become extremely important.
In a motor vehicle accident, relevant evidence might include photographs, witness statements, dash-camera footage, vehicle damage, traffic-camera recordings, electronic vehicle data, and accident reconstruction.
In a premises-liability case, surveillance footage, maintenance records, incident reports, and evidence concerning how long a dangerous condition existed may matter.
What If the Insurance Company Says You Were Partially Responsible?
Don’t assume the insurer’s conclusion is correct.
Insurance companies have a financial reason to investigate conduct that could shift some responsibility to the injured person. Even a relatively small change in the alleged percentage of fault can substantially affect a significant claim.
Be careful about guessing when describing an accident. A casual statement such as “I probably could have stopped sooner” can later be used to support an argument that you contributed to the collision.
Preserving objective evidence can provide a much clearer picture of what actually happened.
Why Legal Guidance Matters
Disputes about fault can have a substantial effect on the value of a Michigan personal injury claim.
Duff Law can help injured people investigate accidents, preserve evidence, respond to allegations of comparative negligence, and evaluate how Michigan’s fault rules may affect a potential settlement or lawsuit.
Make sure you reach out for your consultation today.