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AT
THE TRIAL
If proceedings are commenced
in Court, there are 2 questions to be decided:
- Liability: who
is responsible;
- Quantum: how
much the damage caused is worth (see How
Much Can A Person Claim); and
For liability, the Court
can decide that one party is fully responsible for the accident,
in which case, he is said to be "100% liable".
It can also decide that
the person making the claim (plaintiff) is partly responsible
for the accident (contributorily negligent). In this
case, the Court will assess the degree of responsibility in
percentage terms and divide the damage accordingly between
the parties e.g. if the plaintiff is found to be 20% contributory
negligent for a $10,000 claim, then he will only be awarded
the sum of $8,000 as damages.
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