get your free consultation
Yes, Missouri is a pure comparative negligence state. In Missouri, plaintiffs can still recover compensation for a personal injury even if they also were partly to blame for the accident. Under Missouri’s pure comparative fault laws, the plaintiff could be 99 percent responsible for their accident yet still be eligible to recover financial compensation for one percent of their losses.
If you have been injured in Missouri, it’s critical that you understand how Missouri’s comparative negligence laws work and what they imply for your financial compensation.
Comparative negligence is an approach to determining fault and proportioning damages in tort law. Under a comparative negligence scheme, defendants in personal injury cases are still eligible to recover compensation for their injuries even if they bear some responsibility for the accident. The total amount of compensation the court awards to each party is reduced by the percentage of fault they bear for the accident.
The point of comparative negligence is that insurance companies only pay for the portion of the compensation for which their insured is responsible. Although courts are bound by comparative negligence laws, insurance companies adhere to those principles, as well. When reviewing claims, insurance companies will investigate the causes of the accident to determine the proportion of fault that the individual parties hold.
Here is an example of comparative negligence at work. Drivers A and B get into a car accident and sustain $1,000 and $600 in damages, respectively. The insurance company then finds Driver A to be 40% responsible for the accident and Driver B to be 60% responsible. In this scenario, Driver A could recover $600 ($1,000 x (100-40) percent), while Driver B could recover $240 ($600 x (100-60) percent.)
Most states operate on one of two comparative negligence standards: pure comparative negligence or modified comparative negligence.
Under pure comparative negligence, the plaintiff can recover financial damages for an accident, no matter the amount of fault they share. Under a pure modified negligence scheme, you would still be eligible to recover financial compensation even if you were 99 percent responsible for the accident and the other party was one percent responsible. Twelve states in the U.S. operate according to a pure comparative negligence rule.
Under modified comparative negligence rules, the law caps the recovery of damages if the plaintiff bears a certain portion of responsibility. Ten states bar plaintiffs from recovering compensation if they are 50 percent or more responsible for the accident, and 23 states bar plaintiffs from recovering money if they are 51 percent or more responsible.
You can contrast pure and modified comparative negligence with contributory negligence, which is yet another method some states use for the apportionment of compensation. Under contributory negligence, plaintiffs cannot recover financial compensation for their losses if they share any responsibility for the accident at all. Even if the plaintiff is just one percent responsible for the accident, they cannot file a claim for compensation. Only five states in the U.S. still operate under the much stricter contributory negligence standard.
Missouri is a pure comparative negligence state, which means that plaintiffs can still recover compensation for damages, regardless of the amount of responsibility they share for the accident. Revisor of Missouri 537.765 removed Missouri’s previous contributory negligence laws and established its current pure comparative negligence standard.
In addition to its pure comparative negligence rules, Missouri has laws defining joint tort liability for defendants. According to Section 537.067, if a defendant is less than 51 percent responsible, they must only pay the portion of damages they are responsible for.
Insurance companies typically assign fault as a percentage, which naturally leads to the question: how do insurers calculate comparative negligence?
The answer is that it differs depending on the specific insurance company. Generally, an insurance adjuster will investigate the accident scene and circumstances to determine who was at fault. They will look at any facts that could have contributed to the accident, such as:
For example, say another driver rear-ends you after you quickly changed lanes because they were speeding. In this case, the insurance company might assign partial responsibility to you because your switching lanes too quickly was a partial cause of the accident.
Insurance companies have many tactics they can use to deny claims or to decrease the amount they have to pay. That is why it is so important to work with an accomplished personal injury attorney who can argue with insurance companies and counter their tactics.
The benefit of pure comparative negligence is that you can still recover financial compensation, even if you are partially responsible for the accident. This scheme is beneficial as you can still recover compensation even if you were also behaving negligently when the accident occurred.
However, comparative negligence rules will reduce your settlement according to the portion of responsibility you bear. If you are 70 percent responsible for an accident, the insurance company or court will reduce your total compensable losses by 70 percent. Under a pure comparative negligence standard, courts can reduce your compensation by up to 99 percent if you are 99 percent responsible for the accident.
A key aspect of recovering fair compensation under a comparative negligence standard is accurately determining the proportion of fault each party bears. A St. Louis personal injury attorney can argue with insurers and courts to minimize your comparative liability, thus maximizing your financial compensation.
If you have any more questions about comparative negligence laws in Missouri or would like to receive a case consultation, contact Goldblatt + Singer online or call (314) 231-4100 today to talk to a St. Louis personal injury lawyer. We pride ourselves on fighting for fair and just compensation for our clients.