Your Constitutional Right to Compensation
The right to seek compensation for injuries caused by another's negligence is one of the oldest legal principles in American law, rooted in the 7th Amendment's guarantee of trial by jury in civil cases. Every state in the union recognizes the right of injured individuals to pursue damages against negligent parties.
This right encompasses several categories of compensation: economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, property damage, future medical care), non-economic damages (pain, suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life), and in egregious cases, punitive damages designed to punish the wrongdoer.
The American Bar Association reports that approximately 39 million Americans require medical treatment for injuries each year. Of those with viable legal claims, studies consistently show that only about 5% actually file claims — meaning the vast majority of injury victims leave significant compensation on the table.
Your right to compensation is time-limited. Every state imposes a statute of limitations — a deadline after which you permanently lose your right to file. These range from 1 year (Kentucky, Tennessee) to 6 years (Maine, North Dakota), with most states falling in the 2-3 year range.
Studies estimate that only a small fraction of injury victims with viable claims actually file for compensation. Billions of dollars in legitimate claims go unpursued each year.
Comparative Negligence: Your Rights When You're Partially At Fault
One of the biggest myths in personal injury law is that you can't recover compensation if you were partly at fault. In the vast majority of states, this is simply not true.
PURE COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE (13 states including California, New York, Florida): You can recover damages even if you're 99% at fault. Your recovery is simply reduced by your percentage of fault. If you're 30% at fault in a $100,000 case, you recover $70,000.
MODIFIED COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE - 50% RULE (12 states): You can recover damages as long as you're not more than 50% at fault. MODIFIED COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE - 51% RULE (21 states): You can recover damages as long as you're not more than 51% at fault.
PURE CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE (4 states + DC — Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia): You cannot recover ANY damages if you're even 1% at fault. This harsh rule is the minority position and is increasingly criticized.
Insurance companies routinely exaggerate the victim's fault to reduce payouts. They assign fault percentages without legal authority to do so. Only a judge or jury can make a binding fault determination — and an experienced attorney knows how to challenge inflated fault claims.
Don't let an insurance adjuster tell you what percentage you were 'at fault.' They have no legal authority to determine fault. Only a court can make that determination — and having an attorney dramatically reduces fault assignments.