What is comparative negligence in a boating accident case?

Comparative negligence is a concept used in boating accident law in Maryland that looks at responsibility for causing the accident. It involves assigning a percentage of fault to each party involved in an accident. This percentage is based on the respective negligence of the involved parties. The concept of comparative negligence is used when an injured party shares part of the responsibility for the accident. For example, if the injured party was not wearing a life jacket, or was not paying attention when the accident happened, they may be assigned a percentage of the fault for the accident. The percentage of fault for each parties is then used to calculate any damages awarded. For example, if the injured party is found to be 40% at fault, they will receive a reduced percentage of the damages awarded. In Maryland, the injured party must be found to be less than 50% at fault in order to receive any compensation. The purpose of comparative negligence is to ensure that only the parties that are at least partially at fault are found liable for the accident. This helps to protect innocent parties from being held responsible for an accident that was mostly caused by another party. It also prevents people from taking advantage of the system by exaggerating the amount of damages they may receive in an accident case.

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