Hi. My name is Zachary Cole with Probinsky & Cole. I’ve had the question in the past. So I was involved in an accident. It was somebody else’s fault but I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt. Can I still file a claim?
The answer – the short answer is yes, absolutely. The State of Florida is a comparative fault state which just means that should you receive a jury verdict, that the judge would reduce that jury verdict by whatever proportion the jury deemed was your fault in the accident.
So say you were involved in an accident. Somebody ran a stop sign and hit you. But you weren’t wearing your seatbelt and the jury says that was 10 percent your fault. If it was a $100,000 jury verdict, it would be reduced to $90,000 by the judge. If it was a million dollar jury verdict, it would be reduced to $900,000 by the judge and the same goes for things like if you’re not wearing your helmet or if part of your driving or your negligence contributed to the accident. You could even be mostly at fault for the accident.
If somebody else was partially at fault, the judge will address that after the verdict. If you have been in an accident or you know somebody that has and would like to speak with an attorney, we are happy to speak with you for free.
Our phone number is 941-371-8800. Thank you.
