Defenses Raised in Auto Accident Cases

It is the insurance company’s job to raise any and all possible defenses to a claim. In Maryland, there are two legal defenses that can be raised to try to prevent you from recovering compensation for your injuries, namely, Contributory Negligence and Assumption of Risk.

The defense of “Contributory Negligence” simply means that the person injured in the accident was negligent too and that negligence caused their injuries. It, therefore, prevents a financial recovery based on their own negligence in the accident.

However, in order for this defense to be successful, that negligence must be the concurrent and proximate cause of the injury. A person is Contributorily Negligent by failing to exercise care for their own safety, that a reasonable or prudent person, under the circumstances would use, and that failure directly contributed to the injuries.

The defense of “Assumption of Risk” is raised when the person who was injured was aware of the risk of an accident which may not occur and assumed the risk anyway by voluntarily exposing themselves to the known risk involved. It will also bar recovery by a person injured as the result of a motor vehicle accident even if serious injuries were sustained. In order to successfully defend the case, the Defendant would have to prove that the victim who was injured by the accident was aware of the risk of being injured and chose to proceed anyway.

However, if the Defendant is claiming the defenses of contributory negligence or assumption of risk, the legal burden of proof is on them to prove those defenses to the fact finder (either a Judge or a Jury) in the case.