Tennessee Comparative Fault
Prior to 1992, if a jury in a civil action found the plaintiff to have contributed in any way to his or her accidental personal injuries, the he or she would be denied recovery under the doctrine of contributory negligence. This rigid all-or-nothing rule was replaced in 1992 when the Tennessee Supreme Court ordered a new trial in the case McIntyre v. Balentine.
Characteristic of several tragic auto accidents in Tennessee involving drinking and driving, the defendant in McIntyre was driving a tractor-trailer south on Highway 69 while intoxicated. The plaintiff had just entered the highway from a truck stop when all of a sudden the defendant crashed his truck into the rear of plaintiff’s vehicle. The evidence indicated that defendant Balentine was speeding. The problem with the plaintiff’s case, however, was that he too had been drinking. Because of this fact, the jury found plaintiff partially at fault and denied recovery on the basis of contributory negligence.
On appeal, the Tennessee Supreme Court found the contributory negligence rule “outmoded and unjust” and adopted the comparative fault system in use today. Essentially, in a negligence action, the defendant may allege that plaintiff’ negligence, in whole or in part, caused the injury; therefore, damages should be adjusted according to the plaintiff’s percentage of fault. Thus, under the facts of McIntyre, the jury would be asked to reduce the plaintiff’s damages by that amount attributable to his drinking and driving.
The Court’s modification to the comparative fault system should be noted. In force today is the so-called “49 percent rule,” which means that the plaintiff cannot recover any damages if the jury finds the plaintiff’s fault to be equal to or greater than the defendants’ combined percentage of fault.
Some factors a court considers in determining the party’s percentage of fault are:
• Age, maturity, training, and education of the parties
• Existence of an emergency requiring a hasty decision
• Whether defendant failed to avoid the injury to plaintiff
• The partys’ conduct leading up to the accident
If you have been injured in a Knoxville car accident or if a loved one has died in an auto accident, even if the victim had some degree of negligence action, he or she still deserves compensation for injuries or financial struggles as a result of the incident. Contact the top Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Baker Associates for a free consultation.
