Contributory Negligence – a quick explanation
North Carolina allows the arcane and silly defense of Contributory Negligence in negligence claims (car accidents, slip and falls, pharmacy errors, etc.).
Only 4 states and one District recognize this: NC, Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, and DC. The fact that not many others follow this (not to mention that Alabama is on board with it) should probably clue us into the fact that it’s not a good thing, but what can I say? The insurance lobby is strong in our state. Alas.
What does Contributory Negligence mean? I’m so glad you asked!
BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY – Contributory Negligence = “The act or omission amount to want of ordinary care on part of complaining party, which , concurring with defendant’s negligence, is proximate cause of an injury…”
Lemme break it down with some simplified definitions:
Negligence: acting unreasonable (not acting as a reasonable person would in that situation) in light of what will keep everyone safe.
Contributory Negligence: when BOTH of you are acting unreasonable in those circumstances.
The effect of this doctrine is to completely bar recovery when the person complaining of the other person’s negligence was contributorily negligent.
Example: Night time, country road, you are walking WITH traffic, wearing black, on the road. Other guy is speeding around a corner and whacks you. Other guy is probably negligent – speeding, not keeping a proper look out. You might be negligent, too – dark clothing, on the road at night, wrong side of the road.
Both parties’ negligence might be a proximate cause of your resulting injuries. If the judge or jury find both are negligent, neither can recover from the other. In NC, if you have an accident caused by some other party’s negligence, and the defendant claims contributory negligence (we say “contrib,” btw), and if the jury finds you even 1% at fault, you can’t get ANYTHING from the person who is 99% at fault.
Yeah, I know, sounds kinda iffy when you put it like that. There are some situations where it makes sense, but there are many situations where it doesn’t.
THE VAST MAJORITY of states in our Union have a variation of Comparative Negligence, where under the previous example the person who was 1% at fault could get 99% of their damages from the other guy. There are variations of this doctrine that we’ll talk about someday, maybe, if NC ever adopts one, but not today.
What’s the upshot?
Contrib is dangerous and can keep a deserving person from recovering. Watch those tricky insurance companies!
In the meantime, if you have an injury claim, make sure you call me and I’ll do what I can to help. Thanks for joining me again.
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