Comparative Negligence in Rhode Island
Christopher Russo, Managing Partner at Kirshenbaum & Kirshenbaum
"Hi, I'm Christopher Russo, managing partner here at Kirshenbaum & Kirshenbaum. Today I want to talk to you about something that's called comparative negligence.
In any car crash, more than one person could be held responsible, including you. You as a plaintiff can be found partially at fault or entirely at fault. Some states, like Massachusetts, if you're 50% or more at fault, you receive nothing. Some states are even more harsh—if you're found even 1% at fault, you collect nothing.
Rhode Island is what we call 'pure comparative.' Whatever negligence you are involved in the case, your damages will get reduced by that percentage. Let me provide an example to make it easier to understand:
Let's say you're involved in a car crash and a jury determines you're 50% at fault, the defendant's 50% at fault, and they find your damages are $100,000. In that situation, you would receive $50,000.
For a further example: same facts, but a jury determined you were 90% at fault. On that $100,000 judgment, it would get reduced by your 90% negligence, and you would receive $10,000.
So how does a jury determine who's at fault? Well, that's where the attorneys at Kirshenbaum & Kirshenbaum come in, and we help. We gather all of the evidence for you from the scene, police reports, we look at property damage, we look for video from buildings nearby, check if anyone has car dash cameras, we contact witnesses, and we gather all of this evidence to make the insurance companies pay our clients.
So if you've been involved in a car crash, please contact us here at Kirshenbaum & Kirshenbaum and let us be your lawyers for life."
