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Iowa Negligence Laws and Your Personal Injury Claim (Part A)

To claim compensation after a car accident in Des Moines, you will need to prove that your personal injuries were the result of someone else's negligence.

According to Iowa negligence laws, to prove negligence you will have to show:

  • that the person who caused the accident owed you a duty of care;
  • that the person who caused the accident breached that duty;
  • that there was a connection between the person's conduct and the harm you suffered;
  • that the harm was foreseeable; and
  • that you suffered as a result of the negligent act.


If you are able to prove these things after a car accident in Des Moines, Iowa negligence laws require the liable driver to compensate their victim. To claim compensation, you can get the help of an experienced Des Moines car accident lawyer who can navigate the nuances of Iowa negligence laws.

Comparative Negligence in Iowa

When you file a personal injury claim in Des Moines, your compensation may be limited by Iowa negligence laws. This is because Iowa is a 51% comparative negligence state. This means that if you were partially responsible for your car accident in Des Moines, you may be held responsible for your own percentage of negligence.

In other words, when you file an Iowa personal injury lawsuit after a car accident in Des Moines, a judge or jury will determine exactly who was at fault. They may determine that while the other party was at fault for making an illegal left turn, you were also at fault for pulling too far into the intersection. In this case, you may be found 25% negligent and the other driver 75% negligent for the car accident in Des Moines.

This means your compensation will be reduced by your own percentage of negligence
(25%). So if you are awarded $4,000 in an Iowa personal injury claim, your total compensation will be reduced to $3,000 ($4,000 - 25% = $3,000).

According to Iowa negligence laws, you will be denied compensation if your percentage of negligence was more than 50%. This is known as the 51% rule. As long as your percentage of negligence does not reach 51%, you may be entitled to compensation in an Iowa personal injury claim.

The knowledge of a Des Moines car accident lawyer is crucial at this point in your Iowa personal injury claim. Your lawyer can collect evidence to prove the other driver's negligence in the car accident in Des Moines, so that you may still qualify to receive compensation.

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