Can You Recover Damages If You Were Partially at Fault in TN?

In most types of accidents in Tennessee, victims can recover damages even if they are partially responsible for the accident – provided their share of responsibility is less than 50 percent. The ability to recover partial damages applies to most types of accidents, including:

• Car, truck, motorcycle, Uber, Lyft, bus, and other types of vehicle accidents
• Slip and fall and other types of premises liability accidents
• Construction accidents

Generally, if you were injured on the job, workers’ compensation benefits are available regardless of fault, provided a worker did not intentionally cause an accident. In other accidents where a victim is not capable of fault, such as birth injuries, the partial fault analysis does not apply.

How do the various states handle partial fault claims?

All US states use one of the following types of partial-fault (comparative-fault) standards. Tennessee uses the 50 percent standard (as set by a Tennessee Supreme Court decision). Tennessee’s standard applies to personal injury actions and wrongful death actions based on the negligence of others.

• Comparative negligence. 51 percent. States using the 51 percent modified comparative negligence rule allow recovery if the plaintiff is 50 percent or less at fault, but recovery is barred if the plaintiff is 51 percent or more at fault. In these states, a plaintiff’s damages are reduced in proportion to their percentage of fault.
  • If the victim is 51 percent or more responsible, the victim cannot receive any damages. The damage amount for any eligible victims may be reduced by their percentage of fault.
  • For example, if there is a car accident and both drivers are equally responsible, both drivers (if they suffer injuries due to the accident) may file claims against the other driver. The insurance companies for each driver may be responsible for 50 percent of their respective damages, depending on the facts of the case and applicable insurance coverage.
• Comparative negligence. 50 percent. Tennessee follows a modified comparative fault rule. A plaintiff may recover damages only if their percentage of fault is less than the defendant’s or combined fault of all defendants. If, for example, a driver is equally (50 percent) responsible for an accident, the car driver is barred from obtaining any damages for their injuries. The driver can only seek damages if they are less responsible than the other driver, in which event their recovery will be reduced by their percentage of fault.
• Pure comparative negligence. Accident victims are not barred from filing accident claims, regardless of their degree of fault in pure comparative negligence states. If, for example, you are 90 percent at fault for a car accident, you can still file a car accident claim. You will only be eligible to receive 10 percent of your damages because your recovery will be reduced by your degree of fault.
• A contributory negligence law. States that use a contributory negligence standard bar any recovery even if the accident victim is just one percent at fault for the accident.

What happens if there are multiple parties?

If there are two or more defendants responsible for your accident (such as if a truck driver and the driver’s employer are both responsible for your accident), then the partial fault analysis becomes more complicated.

Generally, in Tennessee, you can still recover damages if your degree of fault is less than the combined degree of fault of the defendants. For example:

• If you are 40 percent responsible for an accident, the other driver is 35 percent at fault, and the other driver’s employer is 25 percent responsible, you can recover 60% (100 – 40) of your damages, even though your degree of fault is more than the fault assigned to either individual
• If you were 50 percent or more responsible and each of the defendants was 25 percent responsible, you could not recover.

What is the basis for Tennessee’s modified comparative negligence law?

According to the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners, comparative negligence helps apportion each party’s fault – to encourage the parties (different drivers, shoppers, property owners, and others) to act responsibly.

Tennessee recognizes doctrines such as sudden emergency and open and obvious danger, but under the state’s comparative fault system these doctrines are typically considered as factors when allocating fault rather than serving as automatic bars to recovery. For example:

• The sudden emergency doctrine. The sudden emergency doctrine recognizes that a person confronted with a sudden and unexpected danger not of their own making may not be held to the same standard of care as someone acting under normal circumstances. In Tennessee, the doctrine is typically considered as part of the comparative fault analysis when determining each party’s share of responsibility.
• The open and obvious doctrine. This doctrine might apply if you are shopping in a store in which there is a visible danger, such as a wet floor. Normally, the store owner would be liable to shoppers for injuries caused by a wet floor (if the owner knew of the wet floor), but the owner would not be liable if they could show that the shopper saw the wet floor and continued walking on it.

Generally, in Tennessee, a defendant must plead comparative negligence as an affirmative defense. The defendant cannot bar or even reduce a victim’s damages if they fail to include the comparative negligence in their pleadings, even if it is clear the victim was partially responsible for the accident.

How does the reduction of damages due to partial fault work in Tennessee?

Let us use an example.

If a jury determines that you are 30 percent responsible for a car accident (or the parties agree during settlement negotiations) and the value of your claim is $300,000, then you can receive 70 percent of $300,000, or $210,000.

Passengers

Generally, passengers are not at fault for car accidents because they do not control a vehicle. A passenger may recover damages from any driver whose negligence contributed to the accident, with liability typically allocated based on each party’s percentage of fault.

How is comparative fault determined?

Our lawyers can work to show you were not at fault for an accident or that you were minimally at fault. We do this by reviewing how the accident happened. For example, if you are in a car accident, we:

• Review how the accident happened to
• Review the police report and talk to the police who investigated the accident.
• Hire investigators who examine the accident site, speak with witnesses, look for any video footage, look at the damage to the car, and take other steps.
• Use the discovery process, where we formally question all the defendants and witnesses in person and/or in writing.
• Hire traffic reconstruction experts, if necessary.
• Take other steps depending on how the accident happened.

Contact Rocky McElhaney Law Firm: Car Accident & Injury Lawyers today

At Rocky McElhaney Law Firm: Car Accident & Injury Lawyers, we work tirelessly to contest any argument by the insurance company or defense lawyers that you partially caused an accident. We can pursue compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, property damage, and other damages.

Please contact us to schedule a free consultation in Nashville, East Nashville, Hendersonville, Clarksville, or Murfreesboro.