What does comparative negligence mean in a pedestrian accident case?

In a pedestrian accident case, comparative negligence means that the law looks at all parties involved and assigns a percentage of fault to each party. This helps determine who is responsible for the accident and how much they can be held liable. In California, this is known as a pure comparative negligence state which means each party can be held responsible for different amounts of fault. For example, if a pedestrian is running across a street without using the crosswalk and is struck by a car, the pedestrian would be found partly to blame for the accident. The pedestrian would be assigned a percentage of negligence, such as 25%. The driver would be assigned a larger percentage of negligence, such as 75%. In this case, the pedestrian is still entitled to recover damages from the driver, but the amount of damages will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to the pedestrian. Comparative negligence is important in pedestrian accident cases because it allows for both parties to take responsibility for their actions and holds them accountable for their negligence. In some cases, if a pedestrian is found to be completely responsible for the accident, they may not be able to recover any damages. Therefore, it is important for pedestrians to take the right steps to protect their rights and ensure they are not assigned an undue amount of negligence in a pedestrian accident case.

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