What is Modified Comparative Negligence?

 

Road accidents are a fairly common sight in Nevada’s roads. It is a regular sight to read about crashes caused by drunk drivers or reckless pedestrians. Collisions caused by lead drivers may not be as common, but they still pop up from time to time.

In most crashes, the fault lies in only one party or another, regardless of whether or not they started the crash directly. However, Nevada recognizes that there are circumstances where all parties involved led to the crash in one way or another. In such cases, the state awards damages to select parties under the Modified Comparative Negligence rule.

What is this Rule?

Comparative negligence is a legal rule that reduces the amount of damages a plaintiff in a road accident can receive proportionate to how much they contribute to the accident in the first place. That is, if a person seeking damages caused part of the accident in the first place, they will receive only a fraction of the possible reparations. This stands in contrast to contributory negligence, a doctrine that bars reparations even if the plaintiff only if their part in the accident was minimal.

There are currently three types of comparative negligence in effect across the United States today. They are:

• Pure comparative negligence, which subtracts the reparations from the amount of damages inflicted by the plaintiff (i.e., only getting 20% reparations if the accident was 80% their fault)

• ‘Threshold’ comparative negligence, where the plaintiff can only receive reparations if their contribution to the collision is not greater to the other parties. This is Nevada’s current rule, with a damage/negligence threshold of no more than 50% for the plaintiff.

• ‘Parity’ comparative negligence, where the plaintiff’s contribution should not be the same value as the combination of all the other involved parties. 

Note that the terms used for the two types of comparative negligence are conjectural, based on their nature.

Threshold?

As stated earlier, Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence doctrine based on a 50% threshold. If the plaintiff breaches that threshold, they are barred from recovering any reparations from the accident. Also remember that the court has the final say in the amount recoverable for the plaintiff, regardless of how large or small the percentage of negligence is.

In any case, this can be a better situation than being in a handful of states that still implement the contributory negligence doctrine. These states include:

• Alabama

• Maryland

• North Carolina

• District of Columbia

Special Circumstances

There are special circumstances where the responsibility of the crime is placed squarely in the defendant instead of being shared between the parties involved. Such cases are the prerogative of the courts and may or may not be based on the circumstances of the case. Two examples include:

• Failure to follow protocol or policy (i.e., failing to provide safety equipment or guidelines that would have saved an otherwise careless plaintiff)

• Failure to follow societal or judicial norms (like not holding a minor responsible for consenting to sexual activities with an adult, because it was society’s duty to protect the minor in the first place)

Get in touch with a defense attorney to better understand how Nevada’s modified comparative negligence doctrine works.

Four Factors that Constitute Child Abuse

 

Parents have the right and obligation to instill discipline in their children, especially when they are acting out of line. In many instances, this may involve a heart-to-heart talk detailing where the children are wrong and teaching them how to act right. For more old-fashioned families, however, parents may result to corporal punishment to get their message across.

Of course, an excess of anything can turn bad really quickly. In this case, going too far with the punishments may lead to the act qualifying as child abuse and can potentially leave the parent open to a criminal charge. For that to happen, however, at least four factors must be put into consideration.

Significant Harm

Corporal punishment often leads to some sort of injury, like light bruising after a spanking or pinching. However, if the disciplining act leads to even more serious wounds, it can qualify as an act of abuse. For example, lightly spanking a child for misbehavior may not inflict lasting effects; however, repeated hitting, or using other implements like a leather belt, can cause serious long-term injury. Certain physical methods automatically count as abuse, such as punching or kicking a child.

Stress

Excessively forceful child discipline not only affects them physically; it also hurts them mentally and emotionally. Prosecutors would definitely consider a case to be abuse-related if the child shows signs of post-traumatic stress, is increasingly withdrawn or antisocial, is increasingly aggressive, or is reported to be suffering repeated episodes of night terrors and bed-wetting after the alleged abuse. If the prosecution can find a direct link between the alleged abuse and the child’s current mental and emotional state, it can be more difficult for the parent to defend their case in court.

The Child’s Age

A victim’s age can be a significant factor in determining the severity of a person’s crime. In the case of child abuse, acting heavy-handed against someone who is basically a toddler constitutes a serious charge. In general, the younger the child, the heavier the alleged crime; this could be considered worse if the abuse has been happening for years.

Possible Sexual Assault

Corporal punishment involves physical contact. However, some disciplining acts may leave the child vulnerable to sexual exploitation. For example, instances of spanking might have episodes of inappropriate touching. If the prosecution finds evidence of such incidents, they can easily escalate the charge by adding charges for sex crimes.

Any one of these factors can be enough to put you up against a serious domestic violence or child abuse charge in Las Vegas. Thankfully, you can defend yourself with veteran help. Get in touch with reliable defense attorneys to help you deal with your case.