A 50-year-old woman remains in critical condition at a local Nevada hospital after a serious car wreck on September 14th, 2018.

The car accident occurred in Las Vegas, NV near the intersection of McDaniel St. and Lake Mead Blvd. As the woman walked across the sidewalk on the street, outside of a crosswalk, sadly, a motorist hit her with his vehicle. Police ruled out alcohol or other DUI impairments; however, they are still searching for the cause of the collision.

No names have yet to be released.

Determining Comparative Fault in A Las Vegas Car Accident Case

Contributory negligence is the most popular insurance company defense in Nevada auto accident cases.

Comparative fault is typically a two-part process. First, insurance company legal staff must persuade the judge that contributory negligence was at play. For example, eating while driving is technically classified as distracted driving, most judges do not consider this act dangerous enough to allow the contributory negligence defense.

Related: Las Vegas Pedestrian Accident Attorney

The second part lies on the jury. They must adequately administer fault between the defendant and the plaintiff. This can often become highly complex so it is critical that you hire a Las Vegas Injury Lawyer to help navigate the process.

Now, back to our story… we are led to believe that the woman was outside of the marked crosswalk area, and we can assume that she was crossing on a red light as well. Based solely on those two facts, a jury would likely divide liability on a 50/50 basis.

However, it should be noted that the negligent driver was probably not paying close attention to the road. Additionally, there is a difference between crossing a few steps outside of the crosswalk vs. in the middle of the street. Therefore, on further review, the distribution of liability would likely be more of a 70/30–favoring the victim.

The percentage division is critical in personal injury cases. Nevada holds a modified comparative fault rule at a 51 percent bar. In other words, the victim will only recover if the negligent driver holds more than 51 percent of fault for the injuries sustained. Therefore, the higher the negligent driver’s responsibility, the more money the victim receives.

Related: Motorcyclist Killed in Crash in North Las Vegas

Location Sources: Zucko, Inc. 10816 Barkwood Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89144, Executive Auto Service 10232 Anoka Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89144, Canyon Fairways Guard Station 9552 Canyon Run Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89144, Summerlin Hospital Medical Center 657 N Town Center Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89144

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