Not all personal injuries that occur in Buffalo are clear cut. In many cases, while one party may have created a dangerous condition that led to the injury, the injured party may have been somewhat careless and put themselves in a position to be injured. Fortunately for the injured person, this does not mean they cannot recover any compensation for their injuries.
In New York State, it is still possible to recover some damages even when the injured person’s negligence contributed to his or her injury. In this situation, New York State law provides that the amount of damages recoverable shall be reduced by a percentage equal to the percentage that the conduct of the injured person bears to the overall conduct which caused the damages.
In other words, when compensation is being determined a “percentage of blame” will be assigned to each of the parties involved, and the damages will be reduced based on this percentage. For example, if you are found to be 25 percent at fault for an accident, you may recover 75 percent of the total damages awarded from the other parties.
As a result, even if you think you are partially to blame for your own injury, you should take steps to protect your right to recover from the other parties who were also responsible. If you have been injured and have questions regarding this topic, please feel free to contact my office at 716-542-5444.
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