These are the search results based on your query.
Pure Comparative Negligence
Pure comparative negligence is a legal doctrine used in personal injury and accident cases where fault is divided proportionally among all parties involved, regardless of the plaintiff's degree of fault. Under this system, a plaintiff can recover damages even if they are found to be mostly at fault for the accident. For example, if a plaintiff is 90% responsible for an accident, they can still recover 10% of the total damages from the other party or parties.
This contrasts with modified comparative negligence, where a plaintiff’s recovery is barred if their fault exceeds a certain threshold, commonly 50%. In pure comparative negligence, there is no such cutoff, so even a plaintiff who is 99% at fault can recover 1% of the damages.
The principle behind pure comparative negligence is that each party should be liable only for their proportionate share of the damages, reflecting the actual degree of fault. This system is used in states like Washington and California, where courts have moved away from older contributory negligence rules that completely barred recovery if the plaintiff was even slightly at fault.
Key points:
- Fault is assigned as a percentage to each party.
- Plaintiffs can recover damages reduced by their percentage of fault.
- No limit on the plaintiff’s fault percentage for recovery eligibility.
- Encourages fair apportionment of damages based on actual responsibility.
This approach allows for more nuanced and equitable outcomes in cases where multiple parties share responsibility for an accident or injury.