How Ohio’s Comparative Fault Law Affects Your Car Crash Settlement
Ohio car accidents are complex events, and more than one driver may be at fault. While you still have the right to seek compensation in a claim, the amount you are entitled to may be reduced if you are proven even partly to blame.
Ohio’s comparative fault law governs how shared responsibility is calculated, and understanding it could be the difference between a fair settlement and a deeply undervalued one. Our experienced Sandusky car crash lawyers explain how comparative fault works and ways insurers may try to use it against you.
Comparative Fault in Sandusky Car Crash Claims
Under Section 2315.33 of the Ohio Revised Code, modified comparative fault applies to Sandusky car crashes. It allows injured drivers to seek compensation in a claim, even if their own behavior contributed to a collision. Here’s how the law applies:
- If you are in a Sandusky car crash and found 50 percent or less at fault, you can recover compensation.
- The degree to which you are at fault reduces your compensation. For example, if you were 30 percent at fault and you were awarded damages of $100,000, you would recover $70,000.
- If evidence proves you were more than 50 percent to blame, you may be barred from recovering any compensation.
- In crashes involving multiple drivers, each party is liable for their portion of the blame.
Comparative fault applies to all Ohio car crashes, not just those cases that end up in court. Insurers rely on it when calculating settlement offers, often using it as a reason to deny or downplay claims.
How Insurance Companies Use Comparative Fault Against You
Insurance adjusters use Ohio’s modified comparative fault law to minimize what they pay. When a claim comes in, their goal is to shift as much of the fault as possible onto the injured driver, thereby reducing their financial exposure.
Understanding their tactics puts you in a better position to push back. Common ways insurers attempt to increase your share of fault in an Ohio car crash claim include:
- Citing your speed, even slightly above the limit, as a contributing factor to the severity of the crash.
- Claiming you were tailgating or engaging in other reckless behavior.
- Using early recorded statements where you may have minimized the other driver’s conduct or accepted partial blame.
- Arguing that your failure to wear a seatbelt contributed to your injuries.
- Using police reports, witness accounts, or physical evidence from the scene to dispute the sequence of events.
If insurers can prove you were even partly at fault, it can impact your rights to compensation.
Schedule a Consultation With Our Experienced Sandusky Car Crash Lawyers
Insurance companies often use comparative fault laws to deny or downplay Ohio car crash claims. At Murray & Murray, our Sandusky car crash lawyers gather evidence needed to support your claim and fight for the maximum amount you need to recover.
Contact our office to protect your rights to compensation. We serve clients throughout Sandusky, Ohio, and the surrounding areas. Request a consultation today.
Sources:
codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2315.33
ohio.gov/government/resources/ohio-courts