What are Negligence Laws?
In a personal injury case you can be prohibited from filing a case or receiving a settlement depending on how at fault you were for the injuries you sustained.
Contributory Negligence
In states with this law even if you are only 1% responsible for the injuries you sustained you are not entitled to any compensation. This is generally considered to be harsh and very few states employ contributory negligence. States that have contributory negligence laws including Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia as well as the District of Columbia. Estimated Damages Calculator
Pure Comparative Negligence
States that employ this law allow you to seek compensation irrespective of how much at fault you were. For example say you got into a car accident and it was deemed that you were 75% at fault, you would still be able to recover damages for the remaining 25% of the accident that you were not at fault for causing. Say you sustained damages of $100,000 but were 20% at fault, you would be awarded a settlement of $80,000 in a state with pure comparative negligence laws. These damages will scale relative to how at fault you were for the injury. Currently 13 states have this form of negligence law. Estimated Damages Calculator
Modified Comparative Negligence
In some states there is a cap to how at fault you can be and still file for damages. This is usually capped at 50% or 49%. What this means is that if you were over 50% or 51% responsible for the accident or injuries that you sustained you won’t be able to recover any damages. Currently 33 states have this form of negligence law. Estimated Damages Calculator
51% Bar Rule
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Vermont
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
50% Bar Rule
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Kansas
- Maine
- Nebraska,
- North Dakota
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Utah
- West Virginia
Laws By State
| State | Negligence Law |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Contributory |
| Alaska | Pure comparative |
| Arizona | Pure comparative |
| Arkansas | Modified comparative |
| California | Pure comparative |
| Colorado | Modified comparative |
| Connecticut | Modified comparative |
| Delaware | Modified comparative |
| District of Columbia | Contributory |
| Florida | Pure comparative |
| Georgia | Modified comparative |
| Hawaii | Modified comparative |
| Idaho | Modified comparative |
| Illinois | Modified comparative |
| Indiana | Modified comparative |
| Iowa | Modified comparative |
| Kansas | Modified comparative |
| Kentucky | Pure comparative |
| Louisiana | Pure comparative |
| Maine | Modified comparative |
| Maryland | Contributory |
| Massachusetts | Modified comparative |
| Michigan | Modified comparative |
| Minnesota | Modified comparative |
| Mississippi | Pure comparative |
| Missouri | Pure comparative |
| Montana | Modified comparative |
| Nebraska | Modified comparative |
| Nevada | Modified comparative |
| New Hampshire | Modified comparative |
| New Jersey | Modified comparative |
| New Mexico | Pure comparative |
| New York | Pure comparative |
| North Carolina | Contributory |
| North Dakota | Modified comparative |
| Ohio | Modified comparative |
| Oklahoma | Modified comparative |
| Oregon | Modified comparative |
| Pennsylvania | Modified comparative |
| Rhode Island | Pure comparative |
| South Carolina | Modified comparative |
| South Dakota | Slight-gross negligence comparative |
| Tennessee | Modified comparative |
| Texas | Modified comparative |
| Utah | Modified comparative |
| Vermont | Modified comparative |
| Virginia | Contributory |
| Washington | Pure comparative |
| West Virginia | Modified comparative |
| Wisconsin | Modified comparative |
| Wyoming | Modified comparative |
| State | Negligence Law |