Chicago personal injury lawyers, Articles

Comparative Negligence

In the United States, comparative negligence is a partial defense to charges raised under negligence. It reduces the amount of damages that a plaintiff can recover based on how much of the plaintiff’s own negligence contributed to the damages that were sustained.

When this defense is asserted, the jury or fact-finder must determine to what degree the plaintiff's negligent actions versus the combined negligence of the defendant(s) contributed to the plaintiff's damages or injuries. It is a modified version of the doctrine of contributory negligence. The two are different in that contributory negligence does not permit the plaintiff to recover any damages if his or her own negligence contributed, even minimally, to the damages.

Prior to the late 1960s, very few states had adopted the system of comparative negligence. When comparative negligence was first adopted, three versions were implemented. Two of those versions have since been merged into one group. Now, comparative negligence is divided into two broad categories.

The first category is "pure" comparative negligence. In this type, damages are determined purely on the percentage of cause each party had. If a plaintiff was 90% responsible for injuries, he or she could only recover 10% of the damages awarded.

The second group is called "modified" comparative negligence. In this variation, the plaintiff is allowed to recover damages only if the plaintiff's actions were responsible for less than 50% of the accident. Basically, the majority of the liability has to rest with the defendant for the plaintiff to recover anything.

Contact a Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have been in an accident and injured due to negligence, contact the Chicago personal injury lawyers of Friedman & Bonebrake at 312-466-8200 to discuss your situation.