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Suppose that you get rear-ended while you are sitting at a red light. You no doubt realize that you deserve some form of compensation. How can you estimate the size of a fair compensation package?
The first question to ask:
If an accident victim needs to determine how much compensation he or she deserves, that same victim must first prove that someone else was responsible for the injury-causing accident. A driver that has been rear-ended by another driver realizes that the other driver should be held responsible for any damages.
The second question to ask:
Before assuming that the other driver must shoulder all of the blame, the driver of the hit car should ask, “Was I partly responsible for this accident, or for my injuries?” Maybe the seemingly innocent driver had failed to put on a seat belt. In that case, the same driver could be charged with comparative negligence.
If 2 people have both played a part in causing an accident, or causing a victim’s injuries, then that fact effects the size of the compensation. The victim gets a smaller compensation, with the amount of the reduction being proportional to the degree to which the victim contributed to the accident or the injuries that resulted.
The 3rd consideration in a determination of the compensation
What sort of injuries did the victim suffer? How severe were they? Did any of them cause a permanent disability or disfigurement? If the answer to that last question is “yes,” then the victim deserves a large compensation.
The victim’s actions at the scene of the accident should also be considered.
Did the victim offer some type of apology? If so, then that fact could be used by the defense to push for a smaller compensation package. Such a comment would suggest that the victim felt at least partly responsible for the accident.
The final factor to be considered:
Did the victim file a personal injury claim before the end of the limitation period? If he or she missed that deadline, then a court case cannot be used to determine a fair compensation for the driver of the car that was hit from the rear. Unless the 2 drivers reach a settlement, there is no way that the responsible driver can be placed in a position where he or she must pay a fair compensation to the victim.
That fact underlines the reason that anyone involved in a serious accident should hire a lawyer. No one can say how long the negotiations might last. If the negotiations prove to have been unsuccessful at a time shortly before the end of the limitation period, the victim might not have time to find a Personal Injury Lawyer in Hamilton.