What is Comparative Negligence?

Comparative negligence is a legal concept used to determine financial responsibility for an accident in Pennsylvania. It applies when more than one party is at fault for an injury. The law outlines that each party must take responsibility for the amount of damage they caused. The state follows the comparative negligence system, in which each party is held responsible in proportion to the amount of negligence they each played in the accident. Therefore, if a person is found to be 25% at fault for an accident, they will be responsible for 25% of any damages. The comparative negligence system also specifies that a person cannot collect any damages from another party if they are more than 50% at fault for the accident. This is referred to as the 50% rule. It is important to note that this rule does not apply to situations where the injured party was only 1% at fault, as the injured party may still be entitled to collect damages from the other party. Understanding the concept of comparative negligence is important for Pennsylvania personal injury claimants. If you have been involved in an accident, you may be able to recover damages from another party, but the amount you are able to collect will depend on how much fault you held in the accident.

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What is Comparative Negligence?

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