When a Buffalo personal injury accident is caused by more than one party, the victim may commence a lawsuit against all of the parties responsible. If a jury determines that these multiple defendants did, in fact, contribute to the circumstances that led to injury, then each defendant will be assigned a percentage of responsibility for injury.
In an ideal world, each defendant would then pay that percentage of the total damages awarded to the victim. Frequently, however, a defendant may not be able to pay their full share. As a result, New York State law sets forth the circumstances under which a defendant may be required to “pick up” that portion of the damages that a codefendant cannot pay.
This law tries to strike a balance between the right of the victim to be fully compensated and the potential unfairness of making a party who has only minimal responsibility shoulder a heavy financial burden because the party with primary responsibility cannot pay. It states that, when a party has been found less than 50% liable for having caused the injury, that party cannot be required to pay more than its assigned percentage of non-economic loss. Non-economic loss includes, but is not limited to, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of consortium. It does not include items such as medical expenses or lost wages.
As a result, a party found more than 50% responsible for a personal injury may be required to pay up to the full amount of damages if the codefendants cannot contribute. For parties with less than 50% liability, any additional amount they may pay if a codefendant cannot contribute excludes payments for pain and suffering and other non-economic loss.
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