If you were recently injured in a car accident in New Mexico, you may be wondering what your options are for recovering financial compensation. While some states have a fault-based system, other states have a no-fault system, other states follow a no-fault system.
New Mexico is a fault-based state, which means drivers can file insurance claims or personal injury lawsuits against the at-fault party or their insurance company. By contrast, a no-fault system requires drivers to file a claim with their own insurer – no matter who is held liable for the crash.
The following are the three ways injured drivers can proceed with their car accident case in New Mexico:
File a claim with your own insurer, if the losses are covered on your policy.
File a third-party claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company.
File a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver.
But what happens if the other driver accuses you of being partially responsible for the collision. If more than one party contributed to the accident, then New Mexico follows a “pure comparative negligence” rule.
Being a pure comparative negligence state means that an injured driver can still recover damages in a car accident lawsuit, but the award will be reduced to the injured driver’s percentage of negligence. For example, if the jury awards you $100,000 in damages, but also believes you were 15 percent liable for the collision, you can only recover up to $85,000 (or 85 percent) of your total award.
Although a defendant may still be able to collect damages if a victim is partially at fault, he will be liable to pay for the other driver’s losses (e.g., property damage, medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.).
If you or a loved one suffered a serious injury in a car accident in Albuquerque, contact Michael J. Doyle, Attorney At Law today at (505) 219-2176 for a free initial consultation. Get a skilled and knowledgeable personal injury lawyer with nearly 20 years of trial-tested experience on your side!