What Is Contributory Negligence and How Does It Impact a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

By Tracy Cortez is a blogger for Adam S. Kutner, a personal injury law firm based in Las Vegas

Sometimes, it may not be immediately clear who is at fault for an accident. In fact, there can be more than one person who contributes to the accident occurring. When more than one party is at fault for an accident, there is contributory negligence.

What Is Contributory Negligence?

Contributory negligence is the legal term for shared fault in an accident. It is the law that applies when more than one person is to blame for an accident. Contributory negligence laws come from both common law and statutory law. The laws create the rules when a person may still recover financial compensation because of shared fault. The laws also determine how the case might change and what impact shared fault may have on the claim.

Understanding the Contributory Negligence Rule

Contributory negligence assigns comparative fault and allows recovery fairly for injured parties. Contributory negligence is largely a matter of state law; what law applies in one state may not apply in another state. In states with pure comparative negligence, even the slightest amount of fault in an accident prevents the victim from recovering. For example, if a victim gets hit by a drunk driver, but the victim was traveling one mile over the speed limit, the victim cannot recover for their losses.

Don’t worry — Nevada, and most states don’t use the pure comparative negligence rule. Nevada, and many other states, use a modified comparative negligence rule. In fact, most states use one of two forms of the modified comparative negligence rule.

Nevada law, and the law in many other states, is that a victim may recover as long as they’re not more than 50% at fault for an accident. In other states, a victim can recover no matter what amount they contributed to the accident occurring. In all states with modified comparative negligence rules, the amount that the victim recovers is reduced to account for the shared fault and the actions that the victim took that in part contributed to the accident. The State of Nevada has adopted a comparative negligence law in Nevada Revised Statutes 41.141.

Examples of Contributory Negligence

Here are some examples of contributory negligence:

1. A customer is rushing through a convenience store. They slip and fall on a spill. Although the store is at fault for the spill, the customer has contributory negligence for rushing too quickly through the store.
2. Someone is walking down the street. There is scaffolding from ongoing construction ahead. Although a sign says to take a detour, the person walks under the scaffolding. A piece of equipment has been left on the scaffolding. It falls and strikes the victim. The victim has contributory negligence for the accident.
3. A driver approaches an intersection. They have the right of way, but they are speeding. Another driver fails to yield the right of way, turns on a red light, and causes an accident. The driver who runs the red light is liable to the victim for their damages; however, the victim driver should not have been speeding. The victim driver’s compensation may be reduced because of contributory negligence.
4. Someone is exposed to toxic chemicals at a work site. Although the owner of the building is at fault for the toxic chemical exposure, the victim failed to wear personal protective equipment that may have eliminated or reduced the harm. Contributory negligence may impact the victim’s claim.

These are just a few examples. An attorney for personal injury cases can help you understand whether contributory negligence applies and how you need to respond to any allegations of shared fault that may arise in your specific case.

How Contributory Negligence Can Affect Your Case

Remember, mutual fault depends on the law. Even if one side is clamoring up and down that the other side is at fault, too, that’s not necessarily true. Whether someone has legal fault for an accident depends on whether they’re negligent. Negligence is jury determined. The jury decides the degree of fault for each party and how each party contributed to the accident.

If you’re the victim of a personal injury accident, don’t be fooled by the other side’s attempt at intimidation. It’s not up to the other side or even an insurance company to decide if there is contributory fault. The jury determines the percentage of fault and the balance of recovering damages for each side. An attorney for personal injury accidents can help you determine whether contributory negligence is going to impact your claim and if contributory negligence bars your right to recovery.

How an Attorney Can Help in Your Personal Injury Case

An attorney can help you determine contributory fault in your personal injury case. They can assist you with gathering the evidence to fight allegations of contributory fault. They may assist you with understanding what a fair settlement should be if there is true contributory fault. Don’t be afraid to seek help from an experienced lawyer if you’ve been in an accident – you may have a right to recover compensation even if your actions may have had something to do with the accident. Ultimately, your attorney helps you understand your rights and pursue justice when you’ve been hurt in an accident.

 

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