In today’s society, human responsibility is a fundamental core value. Responsibility promotes accountability for one’s own actions and a sense of trust in those around them. This value is honored throughout our current legal system, where we all have a responsibility to do and not do certain actions. In personal injury law, when someone fails to uphold their societal responsibility, it is classified as negligence.
Negligence is a broad aspect of personal injury law, and comparative negligence is one of these branches. In this blog, we will review this aspect of negligence and review the legal processes surrounding it.
Understanding Comparative Negligence
Comparative negligence assesses a person’s failure of responsibility relative to another person’s wrongdoing or mishap. It is used as a metric to award damages to the plaintiff when liability is shared between this party and the defendant. It is also used in cases involving multiple defendants, where each defendant can use this defense on the plaintiff’s claim. Under comparative negligence, each party has a percentage of blame for an incident, and damages are awarded based on this metric. For example, if the plaintiff was 60 percent negligible for an injury, the defendant compensates the remaining 40 percent of the damage.
In the past, many US states used contributory negligence, which means that if you were partly responsible for causing your injury, you could not claim damages from the other party. Most states today have either switched from contributory negligence to either pure comparative negligence or modified comparative negligence. States that still adhere to contributory negligence are as follows:
- Alabama
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- Virginia
Types of Comparative Negligence
Most states use two types of comparative negligence based on the merits of claiming damages in personal injury lawsuits. They are explained below:
- Pure Comparative Negligence
Under pure comparative intelligence, the plaintiff can recover damages even if they are partly at fault for the injury. Hence, the damages awarded to the plaintiff will be reduced based on the percentage of fault assigned to them. For example, if the plaintiff is found to be seventy percent at fault and the damages are $100,000, the plaintiff will receive $30,000. The states that practice this rule include:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- California
- Florida
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New Mexico
- New York
- Rhode Island
- Washington
- Modified Comparative Negligence
Modified comparative negligence, on the other hand, sets a threshold beyond which the plaintiff cannot recover damages. This threshold is set in most states at fifty or fifty-one percent.
These states include:
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Kansas
- Maine
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- Tennessee
- Utah
Elements of Comparative Negligence
Every personal injury case has several elements that must be proven for the case to be successful. They are listed below:
- Duty of Care
The defendant must have had a duty to exercise reasonable care toward the plaintiff. This means it was the defendant’s responsibility to take measures to avoid causing harm to others.
- Breach of Duty
The defendant must have breached their duty of care towards the plaintiff. This means the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care and was negligent.
- Causation
The defendant’s breach of duty must have injured the plaintiff. The plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s negligence was a direct cause of their injuries.
- Damages
The plaintiff must have suffered actual damages due to the defendant’s actions, such as physical injury, emotional distress, or financial losses.
Once these elements have been established, the court will assign a percentage of faults to each party based on their degree of negligence. This percentage will then determine the damages awarded to the plaintiff.
Final Thoughts
Comparative negligence is a legal doctrine used in personal injury cases to determine the degree of fault between the plaintiff and defendant. It also helps ensure that damages are allocated in proportion to fault. Comparative negligence encourages both parties to exercise reasonable care, promotes fairness and accountability, and plays a vital role in the legal system’s approach to personal injury cases.
“If you are ever injured in a scenario where a different party is at fault, you should consult your attorney. Depending on your jurisdiction, this professional will advise you on comparative or contributory negligence and help you claim damages based on these doctrines,” says injury attorney Robert James.