What is Comparative Negligence?

Comparative Negligence is a legal doctrine used in Washington State to assign a certain percentage of fault to each person involved in an accident. This doctrine is used to help determine who is liable and what portion of the damages must be paid by each party. Comparative negligence occurs when more than one person is found to be partially at fault for an accident. For example, if two drivers are involved in an accident and one is completely at fault, but the other driver is found to be partially at fault, comparative negligence will assign different percentages of liability to each driver. Under Washington’s comparative negligence laws, if a person is found to be at least 50 percent at fault for an accident, they cannot recover damages from the other party. However, if their fault is found to be less than 50 percent, then they may recover damages from the other party in proportion to their fault. In some states, the law allows for unlimited recovery even if a person is found to be partially at fault, but this is not the case in Washington. Here, the most a person can recover is the amount that corresponds to their own percentage of fault. For example, if a person is found to be 30 percent at fault, they can only recover 70 percent of the total damages.

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What is Comparative Negligence?

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