It depends on one thing most people never check: your state's fault rule. In most states you can still recover with your share of blame simply subtracted — but in a handful, being even 1% at fault can wipe out your claim entirely. Find your state's rule below.
Pick your state to see whether partial fault reduces or blocks a claim. Add numbers to estimate what you'd recover.
How much you can recover after an accident depends on your share of the blame — and the rule varies sharply by state. Most U.S. states use comparative negligence, which simply cuts your settlement by your percentage of fault: if you're 20% at fault on a $100,000 claim, you recover $80,000. But five jurisdictions — Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. — still use "contributory negligence," where being even 1% at fault can bar your recovery entirely. Among the comparative-negligence states there's a second split most charts miss: about a dozen are "pure" (you recover even if you're 99% at fault), while the rest are "modified" and cut you off once your fault crosses either 50% or 51%, depending on the state. Settlement Comps verified the current rule for all 50 states and D.C. — including Florida's 2023 switch from pure to modified and D.C.'s exception for pedestrians and cyclists — in the table below.
The rule that applies to a standard negligence-based injury claim. Green = you keep more of your claim; red = fault can wipe it out.
| State | Fault rule | If you're partly at fault |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Contributory | Any fault can bar recovery |
| Alaska | Pure comparative | Recover minus your fault %, even if mostly at fault |
| Arizona | Pure comparative | Recover minus your fault %, even if mostly at fault |
| Arkansas | Modified — 50% bar | Recover only if under 50% at fault |
| California | Pure comparative | Recover minus your fault %, even if mostly at fault |
| Colorado | Modified — 50% bar | Recover only if under 50% at fault |
| Connecticut | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Delaware | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| District of Columbia | Contributory | Any fault can bar recovery |
| Florida | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Georgia | Modified — 50% bar | Recover only if under 50% at fault |
| Hawaii | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Idaho | Modified — 50% bar | Recover only if under 50% at fault |
| Illinois | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Indiana | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Iowa | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Kansas | Modified — 50% bar | Recover only if under 50% at fault |
| Kentucky | Pure comparative | Recover minus your fault %, even if mostly at fault |
| Louisiana | Modified — 51% bar | Switched from pure comparative Jan 1, 2026 (HB 431) |
| Maine | Modified — 50% bar | Recover only if under 50% at fault |
| Maryland | Contributory | Any fault can bar recovery |
| Massachusetts | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Michigan | Pure comparative | Recover minus your fault %, even if mostly at fault |
| Minnesota | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Mississippi | Pure comparative | Recover minus your fault %, even if mostly at fault |
| Missouri | Pure comparative | Recover minus your fault %, even if mostly at fault |
| Montana | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Nebraska | Modified — 50% bar | Recover only if under 50% at fault |
| Nevada | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| New Hampshire | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| New Jersey | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| New Mexico | Pure comparative | Recover minus your fault %, even if mostly at fault |
| New York | Pure comparative | But motor-vehicle cases filed on/after May 27, 2026 use a 51% bar |
| North Carolina | Contributory | Any fault can bar recovery |
| North Dakota | Modified — 50% bar | Recover only if under 50% at fault |
| Ohio | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Oklahoma | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Oregon | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Pennsylvania | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Rhode Island | Pure comparative | Recover minus your fault %, even if mostly at fault |
| South Carolina | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| South Dakota | Slight / gross | Recover only if your fault was 'slight' |
| Tennessee | Modified — 50% bar | Recover only if under 50% at fault |
| Texas | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Utah | Modified — 50% bar | Recover only if under 50% at fault |
| Vermont | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Virginia | Contributory | Any fault can bar recovery |
| Washington | Pure comparative | Recover minus your fault %, even if mostly at fault |
| West Virginia | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Wisconsin | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
| Wyoming | Modified — 51% bar | Recover if 50% at fault or less |
Every state fits one of these. The one your accident falls under can be the difference between a full settlement and nothing.
The harshest rule. If you're found even 1% at fault, you recover nothing. Only Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. still use it — which is why an insurer there fights hardest to pin any blame on you.
The most forgiving. Your award is reduced by your fault share, but you can recover something even if you were 99% at fault. A $100,000 claim with 70% fault still pays $30,000.
You recover reduced damages only if your fault is under 50%. Hit 50% or more and you get nothing. Being tied at 50/50 blocks the claim here.
The most common rule. You recover reduced damages as long as you're not more than 50% at fault. At exactly 50/50 you still recover half; at 51% you're barred. South Dakota is the lone outlier, using a unique "slight/gross" test.
Most state-by-state fault charts online are recycled and out of date. These are the moving pieces as of 2026.
Florida was a pure comparative state for decades. HB 837, signed in March 2023, moved it to a modified 51% bar — over 50% at fault and you recover nothing. Medical-malpractice claims still use pure comparative. Charts that predate 2023 have this wrong.
Louisiana was one of the last pure comparative states. HB 431 moved it to a modified 51% bar for injuries on or after January 1, 2026 — 51% or more at fault now bars recovery. Almost every older chart still lists Louisiana as pure.
New York stays pure comparative for most claims, but its 2026 tort reform added a modified rule for motor-vehicle cases filed on or after May 27, 2026: if you're more than 50% at fault, recovery is barred. A brand-new change most charts haven't caught.
D.C. is contributory for most claims, but its 2016 and 2020 vulnerable-user laws let pedestrians, cyclists, and scooter riders recover under a comparative rule — barred only if 50% or more at fault. A cyclist in D.C. is not under the harsh 1% rule.
A 2025 Maryland bill (HB 594) proposed a similar vulnerable-user exception, but it was not enacted. Maryland remains full contributory — 1% at fault still bars recovery for everyone. Don't rely on sources that reported the change as done.
In a contributory or modified-fault state, the fault percentage is the whole ballgame — and insurers know it. A free, no-obligation review tells you how your state's rule applies to your accident and whether an offer already shortchanges you for fault. It costs nothing to ask.
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→ Is my settlement offer fair?
→ Settlement statistics by injury type — compare an offer against real, cited cases.
→ How long do I have to file? — your state's filing deadline (statute of limitations).
→ What AI says a herniated disc is worth — the engine estimates vs. the real record.
In most states, yes — under comparative negligence your payout is just reduced by your share of fault. The big exceptions are the five contributory-negligence jurisdictions (Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.), where being even 1% at fault can bar recovery, and the "modified" states, where recovery is cut off once your fault reaches 50% or 51%. Check your state's row above.
Under pure comparative negligence you can recover something no matter how at fault you were — even 99% at fault still pays 1%. Under modified comparative negligence there's a ceiling: once your fault hits the state's bar (50% or 51%), you recover nothing. About a dozen states are pure; most are modified.
In a 50%-bar state you must be less than 50% at fault to recover — being tied 50/50 blocks the claim. In a 51%-bar state you can be exactly 50% at fault and still recover half; you're only barred at 51% or more. It sounds like a technicality, but in a case argued right at the line it decides whether you get half or nothing.
Five: Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. They follow pure contributory negligence. D.C. is the partial exception — pedestrians, cyclists, and scooter riders there recover under a comparative rule instead, thanks to its vulnerable-user laws.
Each state's classification reflects its current negligence statute or controlling case law for a standard negligence claim. Rules were cross-referenced against legal references and the states that recently changed were checked against the primary statute. Where a state has claim-type carve-outs (Florida med-mal, Michigan economic vs. non-economic damages, D.C. vulnerable users), we note them rather than flattening them. Reviewed July 5, 2026.
controlling case law · North Carolina · Virginia · Washington, D.C.Fla. Stat. § 768.81 (2023 HB 837); med-mal stays pure comparativeLa. Civ. Code art. 2323 (HB 431) · New York added a 51% bar for motor-vehicle cases filed on/after May 27 2026 CPLR 1411(b)D.C. Law 21-167 (2016) · D.C. Law 23-183 (2020)S.D. Codified Laws § 20-9-2Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2959
Primary & authoritative references: Cornell Legal Information Institute — comparative negligence · Justia 50-state survey · Justia US state codes. For any specific claim, confirm the current rule against your state's official code or a licensed attorney — statutes change and special claim types run on their own rules.