If There Is No Question The Defendant Was Negligent, Does That End The Lawsuit?

by Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC on February 6, 2012

in Buffalo Injury Questions and Answers

In many Buffalo personal injury lawsuits, the responsibility of the defendant in causing the injury is clear.  While a lack of any serious dispute regarding the defendant’s negligence can be very helpful in quickly bringing a personal injury lawsuit to a conclusion acceptable to the injured party, it does not automatically end the case.

There are several additional issues that a defendant may wish to contest.  For example, even if the defendant was obviously negligent, the defendant may still be able to argue that the plaintiff also engaged in negligent conduct that contributed to the injury.  If the defendant can establish this, each of the parties will be assigned a percentage of fault and the damages paid by the defendant may be reduced based on those percentages.

The defendant is also entitled to contest issues such as the degree of the plaintiff’s injuries and whether the claimed injuries were caused by the accident.  Even if the defendant is found negligent as a matter of law – meaning a judge has determined that there is no issue regarding negligence to present to the jury – the defendant still is entitled to a personal injury trial regarding the actual value to be placed on the injuries.

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