English to French Law/Patents Law (general) procès

They're willing to call you a non-party at fault. Jury payouts are always bigger than pre-trial settlements.

Il s'agit d'une série américaine. Un chirurgien est accusé de négligence médicale. L'avocat tente de le convaincre de trouver un accord à l'amiable pour éviter le procès.
Je ne sais pas si l'équivalent de "non-party at fault" existe en français.
Merci d'avance.

Typically, a victim will sue a tortfeasor for damage caused by that person. The tortfeasor will respond, in part, by saying, “hey, it’s not my fault, it’s Nonparty’s fault.” The victim then has an opportunity (usually) to bring the nonparty into the litigation, but if the nonparty is not named as a party, the nonparty can still be an “empty chair” at trial to whom a jury can assign some or all of the fault. - See more at: http://www.masson.us/blog/hb-1318-definition-of-nonparty-in-...