Can I Claim Compensation if the Accident was Partly My Fault?

When Would You Share Fault for an Accident?

You would have to prove that the person or party you hold partly responsible for your accident did break the law or was negligent in some way. So if, for instance, you were injured by a piece of defective equipment at work, but you hadn’t reported the fault and you carried on using the defective equipment, knowing that you could and should report it, you may be deemed partly responsible, but your employer would also hold a share of the fault.

When equipment becomes defective while you're on the job, you have a tough call to make - do you carry on with the job and report it later or stop and report it immediately?

You should always take the earliest possible opportunity to report defective equipment or a workplace fault to your employer, because if you don’t and you suffer an injury, it may be the case you’ll have to take a portion of the responsibility if you decide to make a claim for compensation.

Alternatively, you may been injured in a car accident, but in many road traffic accidents, more than one driver will be responsible for the events that unfolded, and you’d have to claim on that basis.

Of course, the other person or party may defend themselves on the grounds that because they weren’t entirely at fault for the accident, that their insurers should not be required to pay any compensation. It’s therefore very important to get legal advice from an expert Personal Injury Solicitor.

How Simpson Millar Can Help You

If we take on your case and believe it has a good chance of success, your Personal Injury Solicitor can organise a full medical examination to assess the impact of your injuries and how it has affected your life. Once we have this information, we will be able to negotiate with the other party and present them will the full facts of your injuries and your medical prognosis. This could be invaluable in persuading them to accept some share of the liability (fault).

With the help of a Personal Injury Solicitor, you may also be able to reduce the amount of responsibility you take, and therefore receive the maximum amount of compensation expected in this situation.

When you contact our Personal Injury Solicitors for a free consultation, we can discuss what happened and let you know if we think your claim is likely to succeed.