Comparative Negligence

Plain English

Comparative negligence is a legal principle that recognizes both parties in an accident may share responsibility. Instead of an all-or-nothing approach, the court or jury determines what percentage each person is at fault. Your damages award is then reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you're 20% at fault and awarded $100,000, you receive $80,000. Some states use 'pure' comparative negligence (you can recover even if you're 99% at fault), while others use 'modified' comparative negligence (you can only recover if you're less than 50% or 51% at fault, depending on the state).

Example

A pedestrian was hit by a car while jaywalking. The jury determined the driver was 70% at fault for speeding and the pedestrian was 30% at fault for not using the crosswalk. The pedestrian's $100,000 award was reduced by 30%, resulting in a $70,000 payment.

Used in a sentence

“Under the state's comparative negligence rule, even though she was partially at fault, she could still recover damages.”

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