How Comparative Negligence Works in Arizona

When you have been involved in an accident, it should not surprise you if the liable party attempts to avoid being held accountable for their actions. Blaming the victim is one of the most common tactics defendants use to escape financial responsibility. Attempting to take advantage of Arizona’s comparative negligence laws is not even remotely unique.

For this reason, your high-powered Arizona personal injury lawyer with Zinda Law Group will be prepared to handle unjust shared blame accusations. While Arizona’s comparative negligence statute could have a significant impact on the outcome of your case, when we build a powerful claim against the liable party, we can protect your settlement.

Here is more about how comparative negligence works in Arizona and how these laws could influence the amount of compensation you recover.

Arizona Pure Comparative Negligence Laws

Arizona follows pure comparative negligence laws under ARS §12-2505. Sharing liability will not prevent you from recovering compensation for your damages unless you are 100% at fault for the accident. If you are 99% at fault, you can still be awarded compensation for the one percent of the accident that you are not responsible for.

This may come as a surprise to many injury victims. You may have been under the impression that sharing blame would limit your financial opportunities. While you may not be barred from recovering compensation, your settlement will be affected if you share liability for the accident.

Generally, the amount of blame you carry will be taken out of your payout. This means your percentage of culpability could have a dramatic impact on the amount you receive in settlement funds. Your Arizona catastrophic injury attorney can help you prepare accordingly and find out how to win your personal injury claim.

A Closer Look at Pure Comparative Fault

Let’s take a closer look at how your personal injury lawsuit could be affected by the state’s pure comparative fault laws. Let’s say you were involved in a slip-and-fall accident. Your Arizona premises liability lawyer may carefully review the evidence to determine whether you are partially at fault.

For the purposes of this example, let’s say you were distracted when you slipped and fell, meaning you share 20% of the liability for the injuries you sustained. If the jury awarded you $250,000 for your damages, you would not be entitled to the full $250,000. Instead, the court system would multiply $250,000 by 20% to get $50,000.

Then, the court system would take out $50,000 from your $250,000 settlement. This would leave you with the final payout of $200,000. While this is still a sizable amount of money to recover from your slip-and-fall claim, you still lost out on $50,000 by sharing liability.

When Comparative Negligence Laws Do Not Apply

While Arizona does follow pure comparative fault laws, these laws are not always in effect. For example, if joint and several liability applies, certain exceptions may apply under ARS §12-2506. This might occur when one party is responsible for the actions of another.

Comparative negligence laws may also hold no merit in the cases of “willful or wanton conduct.” Under the statute, there is a “loss of right to comparative negligence” if an injury victim engages in conduct that could be considered willfully harmful or grossly negligent. For this reason, you may be unsure how the court system will handle your personal injury claim.

Are There Other Types of Shared Fault?

Where your accident occurred will also determine how shared fault is handled. If you are involved in any type of accident in Arizona, pure comparative negligence laws would apply. However, if you were injured in another state that does not follow pure comparative negligence laws, your case might unfold differently.

Pure Contributory Negligence

Some states, such as Virginia and North Carolina, follow pure contributory negligence laws. Under Virginia Law §8.01-58 and North Carolina G.S. §1-139, respectively, if you are partially at fault, no matter how small of a portion of the fault you carry, you lose your right to recover compensation for your damages. These are some of the least victim-friendly states regarding partial blame.

Even if you are one percent responsible for causing the accident, in a pure contributory fault state, you will be barred from recovering compensation.

Having a highly experienced Arizona injury lawyer on your side may be the best way to protect yourself if you are dealing with injuries in a state that follows pure contributory fault laws. Your legal advocate should be prepared to challenge the defendant’s partial fault claims and ensure blame is established accurately. 

Modified Comparative Negligence 

Some states follow modified comparative negligence laws. For example, in Florida, under Florida Statutes §768.81, sharing blame is allowed as long as your portion of liability does not exceed the 50% threshold. If you are more than 50% at fault, you lose your right to compensation altogether.

However, if your portion of fault is less than the bar limit, you can still receive a settlement. Your case will unfold similar to the way it would in a pure comparative negligence state like Arizona. In modified comparative fault states, your percentage of blame is taken out of whatever you are awarded as well.

For example, if you were involved in a motorcycle wreck and were not wearing a motorcycle helmet at the time of the accident, you could be found 25% at fault. If this was the case, you would only receive 75% of your award. Though it is only a 25% loss, when you are talking about hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, this loss is considerable.

Get Help Protecting Your Injury Settlement

Sharing fault for your accident will not prevent you from recovering compensation for your damages. Since Arizona follows pure comparative fault laws, you are entitled to compensation even if you are 99% at fault. Instead of stripping you of your right to compensation, it will simply reflect a deduction that correlates with your percentage of liability.

It will be up to your dedicated Arizona personal injury attorney with Zinda Law Group to minimize your percentage of blame. Our team will introduce the powerful evidence needed to prove the defendant’s primary culpability.

When you are ready to take action on your claim but are unsure of where to get started, fill out our quick contact form or call our office to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation as soon as today.