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How Negligence Law Can Impact Your Connecticut Personal Injury Claim

After you have been involved in a serious car accident in Connecticut, you may have to deal with expenses for medical bills, a new vehicle, and perhaps even long periods of time away from work while you recover. If someone else's negligence caused your car accident you should speak with a personal injury lawyer in Connecticut to find out if you are eligible to pursue a Connecticut personal injury claim.

In order to file a Connecticut personal injury claim on your behalf, your lawyer will have to prove negligence. According to the law of negligence, when someone's actions or inactions violate specific standards of conduct and lead to injury, that person will be required to compensate the injured party. In other words, if a driver plows through a stop sign or fails to come to a complete stop and causes injury, that driver will have committed negligence.

Connecticut Personal Injury Claim: Elements of Negligence

There are typically 5 elements of negligence which must be proven in order for your Connecticut personal injury claim to be successful:

• Duty - the person you are suing (defendant) owed you a duty of care.
• Breach of duty - the defendant breached that duty.
• Causation - there was a direct connection between the conduct of the defendant and the harm that resulted.
• Proximate cause - the primary cause of your injuries was foreseeable.
• Damages - you suffered damages because of the defendant's conduct.

Once your personal injury lawyer in Connecticut has determined the party who caused your car accident in Connecticut was negligent, the next step will be determining whether you were partially negligent. This is because Connecticut follows a modified comparative negligence system that takes into account each party's actions concerning the car accident.

Connecticut Personal Injury Claim: Modified Comparative Negligence System

Connecticut's modified comparative negligence system is based on what is called the 51% rule. According to this rule, you can recover compensation only if you were equal to or less than 50% responsible for your car accident in Connecticut. If you were 51% or more at fault, you would not be entitled to any compensation at all through an injury claim.

Additionally, your amount of compensation will be reduced according to your percentage of fault. For example, if you were found to be 30% at fault and the award for damages was $20,000, you would be entitled to only 70% of the award, which is $14,000.

Since proving negligence in a car accident in Connecticut can be a difficult task, you should not try to handle a Connecticut personal injury claim on your own. A personal injury lawyer in Connecticut can guide you through the process and take all necessary steps to help you preserve your legal tights.

Contacting a Personal Injury Lawyer in Connecticut

A personal injury lawyer in Connecticut can help you maximize the value of your personal injury claim. A severe injury can change the course of your life and impact you and your family for years to come. The Connecticut personal injury lawyer team at Glass, Lebovitz, Kasheta & Bren LLC is focused on helping you build a claim that accounts for all of the damages you have suffered after a serious accident. To learn if you have the grounds for a Connecticut personal injury claim, contact us today at 860-257-1000.

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