Modified Comparative Negligence in South Carolina: How It Impacts Car Accident Settlements

Car accident settlements have many benefits over lawsuits. Juries can be unpredictable, whereas settlement agreements provide certainty for both parties. Litigation also takes time. By settling a case, a car accident attorney can quickly deliver results to injured clients.

However, some auto accidents involve complex issues that the parties cannot resolve. An example arises when multiple drivers contribute to a crash. South Carolina follows a legal doctrine called “modified comparative negligence” that looks at each party’s acts to determine how the victim’s role affects their ability to recover injury compensation.

What Does Modified Comparative Negligence Mean?

In English common law, any act by the victim that contributed to their injuries barred them from receiving compensation. Called contributory negligence, this rule produced unfair results because the victim lost all rights to compensation, even in cases where they were only 1% at fault.

South Carolina changed this rule in 1988 when it replaced contributory negligence with comparative negligence. Under this new rule, the victim can recover compensation when they are partially at fault for their injuries. The law simply reduces the victim’s compensation by their share of the fault.

South Carolina adds one limitation to this doctrine, turning it into “modified” comparative negligence. To recover compensation, the victim must be less than 50% at fault. If their share of the blame is 50% or more, they are barred from recovering anything.

For example, suppose that a driver is 15% at fault for their crash. In this situation, they’ll be able to recover compensation for 85% of their losses in the car accident settlement. In contrast, the driver who was 85% at fault won’t be able to recover anything.

How Fault Is Determined in a Car Accident Case

Fault in car accident cases depends on negligence. Negligence means at least one party failed to exercise reasonable care. Thus, someone is negligent if their actions create an unreasonable risk of harming others. Negligence usually means the driver violates traffic laws. Traveling too fast on wet roads could constitute negligence.

However, negligence can also arise from unreasonably dangerous actions, even legal ones. For example, South Carolina doesn’t have a law against eating while driving, but a driver who’s distracted by dropping a sandwich in their lap could be negligent.

Examples of Modified Comparative Negligence in Action

Comparative negligence will come into play whenever drivers blame each other for a crash. For example, one driver might properly brake at a stop sign but then violate the law by going out of turn. Another driver, expecting them to yield, could hit them when they go through the intersection.

The first driver bears the bulk of the blame because they violated the law. However, they will try to shift at least some of the fault to the other driver because they had the opportunity to avoid the collision.

The Role of an Attorney in Navigating Comparative Negligence Laws

An experienced car accident lawyer will try to reduce their client’s share of the blame as much as possible. This, in turn, maximizes the compensation they can recover. If they keep 100% of the blame on the other driver, their client receives full compensation for their injuries.

This issue will come up during settlement negotiations with the at-fault driver’s attorney. Your lawyer has a dual role. First, they must try to get the best deal possible. Second, they must give the client objective advice about when to compromise and avoid the risks of a trial.

FAQ

What Is Comparative Negligence?

Comparative negligence allows a crash victim to obtain car accident settlements when they are partially to blame for their injuries.

What Is “Modified” in South Carolina’s Comparative Negligence Rule?

Pure comparative negligence allows victims to recover compensation regardless of their share of the blame. South Carolina’s modified comparative negligence rule bars compensation when the victim is at least 50% at fault.

How Is My Share of the Blame Determined?

Negligence occurs when someone fails to exercise reasonable care. The claims adjuster or jury examines your actions and determines whether they constitute negligence. If they do, they will compare your actions to those of the other driver to determine your share of the blame.

Discuss Your Crash With an Experienced Lawyer

Car accidents with multiple causes can be difficult to settle because of the complexity involved. However, Clore Law has over six decades of combined legal experience negotiating car accident settlements. Contact us for a free consultation to discuss your accident and the compensation we can seek for your injuries.