Comparative Negligence

Comparative negligence is the legal term for placing a percentage of blame on the parties lucky enough to be involved in an accident. Placing blame allows the litigious among us to assess the cost of such blame, and thereby arrive at the level of damages that need to be paid by one or both insurance companies.

Tom and John’s cars collided in an intersection. Both were somewhat at fault. Tom’s lawyer is seeking to establish comparative negligence to seek a percentage of total cost of the damages owed to his client. If John ran through the light when it turned from yellow to red, and Tom proceeded as his light turned green, and the two cars met in the middle of the intersection somewhere...John will be ruled at fault for having run the red light, and his insurance will be forced to pay up.