John was driving his car in a careless way, failing to drive as a reasonably prudent person would under the driving conditions. Ramona was crossing the street in a careless way, failing to cross as a reasonably prudent person would. John struck and

Question

injured Ramona with the car John was driving. At trial, it was determined that John was 80 percent at fault and that Ramona was 20 percent at fault. The injuries sustained amounted to $100,000. Explain how much, if any, recovery Ramona would receive in a state that applies the contributory negligence rule. Do the same thing for a state that applies the comparative negligence rule.

Answer 1

In a contributory negligence jurisdiction, Ramona would recover nothing, since the doctrine of contributory negligence holds that in order for a plaintiff to recover, the plaintiff must be entirely free from any negligence that contributed to the injury. Under comparative negligence, Ramona would recover 80 percent of $100,000, or $80,000; although Ramona's negligence would reduce the amount of her recovery, it would not preclude her recovery. In other words, whatever amount of the injury is held to be caused by Ramona will be deducted from the total amount of the damage award.