When it comes to injury law, the concept of negligence is one of the most important legal principles at work. As most people know, the plaintiff who is suing for damages must prove not only that they were injured, but that the defendant they are suing was in some way responsible or failed to act in a way that could have prevented the harm that was done.

However, the defendant is not the only person who can be found to have been negligent. Another consideration during an injury case is whether or not an injured plaintiff’s actions or behavior contributed to the incident; when a plaintiff may have contributed to his or her injury, it is known as “contributory negligence.”

Contributory negligence can occur in a variety of ways:

• The plaintiff ignored an obvious risk to his or her safety.
• The plaintiff acted in a way that was careless and/or dangerous, which contributed to the accident which injured them.
• The plaintiff failed to act in a way a reasonable person would be expected to act when it comes to their own safety and the safety of others.

If a defendant is able to prove contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff, the court may find that it offsets some or all of the defendant’s responsibility for the accident. In a case involving a car accident, for example, an injured plaintiff may not be awarded damages or have their award reduced if they were driving carelessly (which increased the chances of them being in an accident) or were not wearing a seatbelt (which likely led to their injuries being more serious than they would have been otherwise).

While it is important to note that a plaintiff’s actions can hurt their injury claim, contributory negligence is not always enough to entirely cancel out the defendant’s responsibility for an accident.

• When determining whether or not a plaintiff deserves to be awarded damages, the court will compare the responsibility of both parties and determine which one contributed more to the conditions that led to the injury.
• If the defendant’s actions are determined to have contributed more to the injury than the plaintiff’s contributory negligence, the defendant will still have to pay damages. However, the amount of money the plaintiff is entitled to may be reduced according to how much their own actions led to their injury.
• If the plaintiff’s contributory negligence is found to be more responsible for the injury than the actions of the defendant, then the plaintiff can be judged to be the one at fault and is not entitled to damages.

Want to learn more about how contributory negligence is determined and how it can affect your injury case? Contact our maritime accident attorneys today at 800-836-5830.