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Accidents are not always amenable to straightforward analysis.  What may initially seem to be a rather simple case may end up involving multiple defendants, each of whom are at-fault to various degrees.   

To help determine and assign liability between multiple defendants, the state of Florida has implemented a pure comparative negligence system.

What is pure comparative negligence?  Let’s take a look.

Pure Comparative Negligence – Understanding the Law

The pure comparative negligence system is enshrined in the Florida Statutes, Section 768.81.  There are two provisions that are particularly noteworthy for our purposes:

     As per 768.81(3):

“In a negligence action, the court shall enter judgment against each party liable on the basis of such party’s percentage of fault…”

     As per 768.81(2):

“In a negligence action, contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as economic and noneconomic damages for an injury attributable to the claimant’s contributory fault, but does not bar recovery.”

Admittedly, that is a great deal of legalese, but don’t worry -- Florida’s pure comparative negligence system is actually quite easy to understand.

Under the pure comparative negligence system, each and every involved party (including the victim) is assigned liability based on their proportional fault.  Florida courts must allocate liability with precision – to the extent that such allocation is possible.

Consider the following example:

Suppose you are injured in a slip-and-fall case.  The stairs outside of a restaurant were not illuminated properly at night.  As a result, you had minimal vision and you tripped on the stairs.  This seems fairly straightforward at first.  One might think that 100% of the liability falls on the defendant-restaurant that operates the premises.

Additional details may reflect a more complicated scenario, however.  Perhaps the owner hires a third-party maintenance crew to oversee light fixtures and other premises concerns.  Perhaps this crew did not conduct a reasonable inspection the last time they were hired, leading to inadequate illumination of the stairs.  We’d have to rethink the percentage fault, here.  Perhaps the defendant-restaurant is 80% liable and the defendant-crew is 20% liable.

Further investigation might reveal that you’re partly at-fault, too.  Perhaps you did not hold onto the handrail when walking down the stairs.  Given the limited visibility, it would have been reasonable for you to hold the handrail.  It may have prevented you from tripping in the first place.  Again, we’d have to rethink the percentage fault.  The final distribution of fault might be 60% to the defendant-restaurant, 20% to the defendant-crew, and 20% to you, the plaintiff-victim.

Let’s say that your total damages are $100,000.  In this example, you would be able to recover only $80,000, since you were found to be 20% at-fault.  If you are successful in your litigation, you would be able to recover $60,000 from the defendant-restaurant, and $20,000 from the maintenance crew.

Remember, contributing to an accident does not eliminate the basis of your claim.  If you are partly at-fault for an accident, your damages will simply be reduced in proportion with your percentage fault.

With multiple defendants, your lawsuit can become a bit unwieldy to litigate.  Bear in mind that Florida does not apply joint and several liability.  If you sue a defendant, you may only recover damages proportional to their actual liability.  If multiple defendants are liable, you will have to file claims against each of them to fully recover for your injuries.  Your personal injury attorney will help identify and locate the defendants and will file claims against them as necessary.

If you have been involved in an accident with multiple defendants, or you believe that you may be partly at-fault, contact Randall Spivey to connect with a skilled Naples personal injury lawyer at the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A..