On a quiet Maine road, a car is traveling well over the speed limit when a vehicle pulling out of a driveway crashes into it. The driver of the car merging onto the road did not look for oncoming traffic before the accident. The speeding roadway car is totaled, and its driver is severely injured. The driver of the roadway car requires significant medical care, and the medical bills mount and total $100,000. Meanwhile, the motorist who pulled out of the driveway without looking has a few cuts and bruises, but his injuries are not as serious.
Who gets damages for their injuries? The roadway car was speeding, but the operator of the driveway car never looked for oncoming cars and as a result hit the roadway car. Will the roadway driver’s medical bills be paid by the other party involved even though he was partially the cause of the accident?
A Maine personal injury attorney with some common sense says the person at fault should pay damages and make the injured party whole. But who was at fault in this accident? Whose negligence caused the crash? The roadway car was traveling over the speed limit. The driver pulling out of the driveway did not look carefully for oncoming cars on the road.
If a driver’s negligence was a partial cause of a car accident can he receive damages from the other driver? When it comes to paying damages, what happens when the actions of both parties involved in an accident contribute to the cause of the accident?
Fortunately, the law in Maine can help people in accidents get answers to these questions.
What is the Maine Comparative Negligence Act?
In Maine, when both parties involved in an accident are negligent 14 M.R.S.A. § 156, also known as the Maine Comparative Negligence Act, controls the outcome. If a motor vehicle accident victim was part of the cause of the motor vehicle accident, 14 M.R.S.A. § 156 guides the resolution of any damages to be paid to him.
The Act establishes that when a claimant or accident victim shares in the responsibility for an accident, the damages paid to a claimant may be reduced because he was partially at fault for the accident. In Jackson v. Frederick’s Motor Inn, 418 A 2d 168 (1980), the Maine Supreme Court described the two-part process of determining the outcome of a case where an injured party and another party were both at fault in one accident. The court described in detail the existence of a liability phase and a damages phase. F
irst, it must be determined how much fault for the accident is assigned to each party. Next, the total amount of damages to the claimant is determined. This damage amount is arrived at as if there was no fault at all by the claimant. The total amount of damages is then apportioned in a fair and just manner between the mutually blameworthy parties – reduced with regard that the claimant was at fault to some degree.
But if an accident victim or claimant was too much to blame for the cause of an accident, his award of damages is in danger. Maine is considered a “modified comparative negligence” state, meaning that when it is found that a claimant is equally or more at fault than the other party, the claimant will not be allowed to recover any damages at all. If it is determined that an accident victim was 50 percent at fault for the accident, damages paid to him by the other driver will be zero. But if the claimant of accident victim was 49 percent at fault for the accident, he is still eligible to receive an award for damages. The law allows a claimant to recover some damages if he contributed to the accident to a degree less than 50 percent.
A Lawsuit May Be Necessary to Settle a Comparative Negligence Dispute
Obviously, determining how much fault is attributed to each party is a key factor when two parties are both found to be part of the cause of an accident. Who determines how much fault is assigned each driver? When the two parties cannot come to an agreement as to payment of damages, the question of fault often ends up being argued. The party seeking coverage may file a lawsuit to pursue resolution. If no agreement is reached during that process, a judge or jury will ultimately listen to evidence and determine the percentage of fault of each driver. In many instances, jury members who are ordinary citizens selected from the community will be asked to review evidence and to make this determination.
When a claimant’s responsibility is found to be under 50 percent, and consideration of the damages phase proceeds, who determines damages? An insurance adjuster may initially determine this figure and ultimately a jury will do so if no agreement between the parties is reached and a lawsuit ensued. But are the damages reduced by, and limited by, the claimant’s percentage of fault? In Maine the answer is no. The state’s Comparative Negligence Act allows outright that, so long as the fault apportioned the claimant is less than 50 percent, the percentage of fault found bears no relation to the damages award given. The award of damages is to be determined as whatever is just and equitable, giving regard for the level of the claimant’s responsibility for the accident.
As stated by the Maine Supreme Court in Jackson v. Frederick’s Motor Inn, “The relative fault of the parties as determined in connection with the liability issue is, of course, a relevant factor which may be considered by the jury in its apportionment of the damages. But it is not conclusive.”
No Damages Awarded if 50% or More at Fault
Returning to the example at the beginning of this article, how might the roadway driver fare? He was speeding. The driveway car driver was not looking. If the case were to go to trial and the jury found the roadway driver 50 percent at fault for the accident, he would receive no damages from the driveway driver. Under 14 M.R.S.A. § 156 he would not be eligible.
But what if the jury compared the roadway driver’s negligence to the driveway driver’s negligence and determined he was only 30 percent responsible for the accident. What would be the outcome then?
Once the jury determined his actions accounted for only 30 percent of the cause of the accident that injured him, how to share the burden of damages can be considered. As stated above, the damages to the roadway driver in this example totaled $100,000. The injured roadway driver could be awarded whatever amount the jury decided was just and equitable, taking into consideration the circumstances of the accident and the negligence of both drivers. It is possible that he would be awarded $70,000 from the driveway driver – the same percentage of damages the other driver was at fault.
But this outcome is not mandatory. The jury is not required to use the percentage of fault to guide the decision on the award. Rather, the goal is that the award be just and fair. The jury could award the roadway driver $90,000 for his injuries. The amount of damages to be paid will be determined by that jury taking into account all they have heard, and what is fair under those circumstances.
In Maine, an injured party can be paid damages for injuries received in an accident even if that victim was the partial cause of the accident. Each case is taken under its own facts. There is no mathematical rule to determination of damages in cases of comparative negligence. In Maine, when a claimant or accident victim is less responsible for the cause of an accident than the other party, the controlling rule is to determine what is a just and equitable amount to pay the accident victim.
If you or a loved one was injured in an accident, contact the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein or visit www.joebornstein.com. Offices in Sanford, Biddeford, Portland, Lewiston, Augusta and Bangor and serving all of Maine.