Comparative Negligence Mississippi: The Adjuster Had A Fault Percentage For You Before You Finished Your First Phone Call And The TV Lawyer’s Secretary Does Not Know How To Fight It

The TV lawyer’s secretary knows two things about comparative negligence Mississippi law: that it exists and that she should move past it quickly before you ask a follow-up question she cannot answer. The adjuster on the other side of your claim knows considerably more. He knows that every fact he can document that suggests you were partly at fault reduces the dollar amount his company owes you under Miss. Code Ann. Section 11-7-15. He knows that a recorded statement taken on day one, a social media post from the week after the crash, or a witness account that puts you on your phone before impact can each shift a percentage of fault to you. Comparative negligence Mississippi law is the legal framework the insurance company uses to pay you less. The free book explains how they do it and what to stop giving them before you know what your case is worth.

Comparative Negligence Mississippi: What The Statute Actually Says

Miss. Code Ann. Section 11-7-15 is the Mississippi pure comparative fault statute. It provides that in any action for damages caused by negligence, contributory negligence shall not bar recovery but damages shall be diminished by the jury in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the plaintiff. That is the full structure of the rule in plain language: you can be any percentage at fault and still recover, but your recovery is reduced by that percentage.

MS adopted pure comparative fault in 1910 through case law and codified the principle in the modern statute. Before pure comparative fault, MS applied contributory negligence, which barred any plaintiff who was even one percent at fault from recovering anything. Pure comparative fault is fairer to injured plaintiffs. It is also a system the insurance industry has built an entire claims operation around exploiting.

How Insurance Companies Use Comparative Negligence Mississippi Rules To Reduce Your Recovery

Every adjuster assigned to your claim was trained on the comparative negligence Mississippi framework. Their job is to find facts that support assigning you a percentage of fault. That percentage comes directly off the top of every dollar they owe you. A ten percent fault finding on a $100,000 claim saves the insurer $10,000. A thirty percent fault finding saves them $30,000. The incentive to build a contributory fault case against you is financial and it is baked into every step of their claims process.

The tools they use are the ones you hand them. The recorded statement where you said you were going a little fast. The crash report that notes you did not fully stop at the sign before entering the intersection. The witness who says your brake lights did not come on before impact. The social media photo posted three days after the crash showing you at a family cookout that the defense uses to argue your injuries are not as serious as claimed. None of these are hypothetical. They are the standard comparative fault building blocks in MS car accident litigation.

Comparative Negligence Mississippi And The Recorded Statement: The Most Expensive Conversation You Can Have

The at-fault driver’s insurer will call you within 24 to 48 hours of the crash and ask for a recorded statement. They will frame it as routine, cooperative, and necessary to process your claim. None of those characterizations are accurate. The recorded statement is a fault-finding exercise conducted while you are still in pain, still in shock, and still without any understanding of what comparative negligence Mississippi law will do with every word you say.

You are not required to give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver’s insurer. You are required to cooperate with your own insurer under the terms of your policy, but that obligation has limits and timing requirements. Before you give any recorded statement to any insurer, read the free book. The recorded statement is where comparative fault cases are built, not in the courtroom.

How A Jury Applies Comparative Negligence Mississippi Rules At Trial

When a MS car accident case goes to trial, the jury receives a special verdict form that asks them to assign a percentage of fault to each party whose negligence contributed to the crash. The total percentages must add up to 100. If the jury assigns 20 percent of the fault to you and 80 percent to the at-fault driver, and your total damages are $500,000, you recover $400,000. The math is applied by the court to the jury’s verdict after the jury returns its findings.

In cases with multiple defendants, the jury assigns a percentage of fault to each defendant. Each defendant is responsible for their proportionate share of the damages. Joint and several liability in MS was modified by Miss. Code Ann. Section 85-5-7, which limits joint and several liability to defendants found 30 percent or more at fault. A defendant found less than 30 percent at fault pays only their proportionate share. Understanding how multiple defendant fault allocation works is part of structuring the liability argument correctly before trial.

Comparative Negligence Mississippi And The Eggshell Plaintiff Doctrine

The eggshell plaintiff doctrine holds that a defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them. If a pre-existing condition made your injuries worse than they would have been in a person without that condition, the at-fault driver is still liable for the full extent of the injuries they caused, including the aggravation of the pre-existing condition. MS applies the eggshell plaintiff doctrine consistent with the general common law rule.

The insurance company will argue that your pre-existing back condition, your prior knee surgery, or your history of migraines means a portion of your current condition predates the crash and should not be attributed to their insured. That argument is a comparative fault argument dressed up as a causation argument. The eggshell doctrine and medical expert testimony on aggravation are the counters. The TV lawyer’s secretary does not know the difference between a pre-existing condition defense and an eggshell plaintiff response.

The Takeaway On Comparative Negligence Mississippi: The Insurer Is Already Building Your Percentage

If you want to give the adjuster a recorded statement, post updates on social media, and let the insurer build your comparative fault percentage without any resistance, the TV lawyer’s settlement mill will accept whatever number the insurer assigns and close the file. If you want to understand what comparative negligence Mississippi law actually permits the insurer to do, what evidence they use to do it, and how to stop feeding them the material they need before you know what your case is worth, the free book is where you start. The percentage they assign you is not fixed. It is negotiated and litigated. The free book tells you how that process works before anyone asks you to sign anything.

For the full list of official resources for MS car accident clients, visit the Mississippi Car Accident Resources page.

Every case I take is backed by the Foster Fair Fee Guarantee in writing, before I take a fee.

For the text of Miss. Code Ann. Section 11-7-15 and other MS statutes governing car accident claims, visit Mississippi Courts.

Frequently Asked Questions About Comparative Negligence Mississippi