Legal
Comparative negligence
Comparative negligence is a rule that reduces an injured person's recovery in proportion to their own share of fault, rather than barring it outright.
Under pure comparative negligence you can recover even if you were 90% at fault, with the award reduced accordingly. Most states instead use a modified rule that bars recovery at either 50% or 51% fault.
The rule that applies in your state materially affects case value, which is why it appears on every state page on this site.
Related terms
- Contributory negligence — Contributory negligence is a strict fault rule under which an injured person who bears any share of the blame — even 1% — recovers nothing at all.
- Liability — Liability is legal responsibility for causing harm, and establishing it is the first requirement of any injury claim — without it, the extent of the injury does not matter.
- Damages — Damages are the money awarded to compensate for harm, divided into economic damages such as medical bills and lost wages, non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, and in rare cases punitive damages intended to punish.
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