How do settlements in personal injury cases work?

Question

If a case goes to a jury trial for an on the job accident, and the plaintiff is found 99% liable, and the defendant 1%, does the plaintiff only receive 1% of the money the court awarded him/her?

Josh Lamborn · Answer

If a personal injury case goes to trial in Oregon and the plaintiff is found more than 50% liable, then the plaintiff gets no money.  In order to "win" a PI case in Oregon the plaintiff must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant was at least 51% liable for the injury.  If the plaintiff is able to do so then the plaintiff will be granted a commensurate percentage of the jury award.  For example, if the plaintiff is found to be 25% at fault and the jury awards $1000, then the plaintiff will receive $750 of the award, but if the plaintiff is 60% liable the plaintiff gets nothing.

Earl Straight · Answer

Texas has a comparative negligence statute.  This means that the plaintiff can only collect if he is not more negligent than the defendant.  So if the Plaintiff is 50% liable, he can collect 50% of his damages.  If he is 20% liable, he can collect 80% of his damages.  But if he is 51% or greater, he loses and cannot collect any damages.

Bernard Huff · Answer

Consult with a locaplaintiff's personal injury/accident attorney regarding jury verdicts and the allocation of liability and the payment of damages in your specific case.

Jared Altman · Answer

Yes. You only get 1%.

Lyle Masnikoff · Answer

In Florida there are no jury trials in worker comp cases.  Worker comp is a no fault system so it does not matter how much each is at fault

Syed Raheen · Answer

Virginia is a contributory negligence jurisdiction, which means that plaintiff recovers nothing if plaintiff is also at fault (even if 1% or less).

Jeffrey Wittenbrink · Answer

Normally on the job accidents are covered under the Worker's Compensation law, and no jury trial is available.  If a third party injures someone while they are on the job and is sued, under your scenario the plaintiff would only receive one percent (1%) of the total damage award if he were 99  percent at fault.

Thomas Bulman · Answer

No. Zero recovery.  Montana requires the Plaintiff be no more than 50% responsible to recover 50% of his damages.  If plaintiff is 51% negligent, then no recovery is allowed.

Ronald Lowry · Answer

Under Georgia law the plaintiff can be negligent and partially responsible for the injury and still recover, in a reduced amount, as long as the plaintiff's percentage of negligence is less than 50%. If the injury is caused by 50% or more negligence by the plaintiff then the plaintiff cannot recover anything.

Gary Moore · Answer

To recover in a personal injury case a plaintiff must be less negligent than the defendant. If the plaintiff is more negligent than the defendant he gets nothing.

David Craig · Answer

When you suffer a work injury there is no fault comparison between the employer and the employee.  There is no jury trial in Worker's Compensation cases. There is a judge that decides disputed claims. That decision then can be appealed to the full Worker's Compensation Board.

Robert Lucky · Answer

Yes, this is typically how it works. The court will usually advise what the total value of the plaintiff's case is worth and then deduct from the total the percentage of fault.

Thomas Patton · Answer

Generally speaking, workplace injuries do not result in lawsuits, because they are handled within the framework established by worker's compensation statutes. Occasionally, however, there is a third-party (not the employer) that can be sued for negligence at the workplace. In that case, your question below would be appropriate. The answer depends where the accident occurred. In Oregon, the defendant would have to be over 50% liable to pay anything. In Washington, the plaintiff would indeed recover 1%.

Francis Paul Hajek · Answer

In Virginia personal injury cases, the law is very clear that if the Plaintiff is even 1% at fault, then the Plaintiff does not recover anything.This is known as the bar of contributory negligence. Now, you mention that this is an on the job accident. The laws for worker's compensation cases are different. If the employer is being sued, then that statute controls. The one exception is for railroad workers. They can make a claim against the employer under the Federal Employer's Liability Act or FELA and under that law, a recovery is still possible even if the defendant is only 1% at fault.

Marty Judnich · Answer

In Montana, if the Plaintiff is found to be 51% or more at fault, then the plaintiff does not recover anything. So the 1% you referenced, means the Plaintiff received $0.

Andrew Velonis · Answer

There are several questions here:  If it is an "on the job accident", the injured person cannot bring an action against his employer, other than worker's compensation. In a worker's comp case, it does not matter who is "at fault". If the claim is against someone other than the employer, then the liability may be apportioned, and the award is divided according to that apportionment. As for settlement, each party is trading a known result against an unknown result  so if you are being offered $100, what's the probability of going to trial, winning and getting $1000? or $99? or zero?

Timothy Klisz · Answer

Most on the job injuries are covered by workers comp, but in a normal injury case, we have modified comparative negligence here in Michigan. Meaning if you are more than 50% at fault, you cannot collect any pain and suffering damages, but still could collect 1% of economic damages in your hypothetical.

James Kelaher · Answer

Typically, yes, plus the attorney can recover whatever "taxable costs" which he advanced in the prosecution of the case.

Stephen Snedden · Answer

It depends on each state. Idaho has adopted modified comparative negligence. This means that if your fault is 50% or greater, you receive nothing. If the fault of the other party is greater than 50%, then your damages are according to liability, e.g. $100k in total damages and other party is liable for 60%, then you will be awarded $60k.

Russell Gray · Answer

In Utah, if a personal injury case goes to a jury trial (your case is  NOT a personal injury case; see below) and the jury renders a verdict,  the jury will also be asked to assign fault.  If the jury assigns more  than 50% of fault to the plaintiff (i.e., the person who brought the  suit), the plaintiff does not receive anything. If the jury assigns 99% fault to the plaintiff, the plaintiff does not receive anything. If the  case is regarding an on-the-job accident, then the injured worker has to  bring the case through the workers compensation system, and there is no  jury trial. The case would go through workers compensation, not a lawsuit against the employer. If you were injured on the job you should consult an attorney who specializes in workers compensation and workplace injuries.

Eric Rothstein · Answer

The title of your question says settlements but the actual question discusses trial. In a settlement, the plaintiff gets whatever is negotiated with the defendant(s) less expenses, attorney fee and any liens. After a trial, the amount of the judgment is reduced by the percentage of liability the jury puts on the plaintiff.

Spencer Farris · Answer

If it was an on the job accident and is filed under workers' compensation, the employee's fault doesn't matter. Workers' compensation is a no fault system, absent alcohol or drug use. If it is a matter in civil court, then yes, under comparative fault, a single defendant only pays the portion of the damages which he caused.

Houston D. Smith III · Answer

If a jury finds a defendant more at fault than the plaintiff, but also attributes some fault to the plaintiff, then the plaintiff's recovery will be reduced by the plaintiff's percentage of fault.  For example, suppose a plaintiff is found to be 25% at fault and that the jury also determined the value of the plaintiff's injuries was $100,000.  In such case, the plaintiff's award would be reduced by her percentage of negligence, so she would receive an award of $75,000.

Find a Lawyer

Ask a Lawyer

Read Legal Articles

Ask a Lawyer

Read Legal Articles

How do settlements in personal injury cases work?

23 ANSWERS

Find Local Personal Injury Lawyers

Helpful Resources

Ask a Lawyer