The way negligence laws affect your claim depends on whether your state follows comparative negligence or contributory negligence rules. These laws determine whether you can receive compensation if you were partially at fault for an accident. 

     In states that follow contributory negligence, you cannot recover any compensation if you are even 1% at fault for the accident. This is a very strict rule and is only applied in a few states, including Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington D.C. 

    Most states, however, use some form of comparative negligence, which allows a partially at-fault party to still recover compensation. There are two types of comparative negligence. Pure comparative negligence allows you to receive compensation even if you were mostly at fault, but your payment is reduced based on your percentage of fault. For example, if you were 80% responsible for an accident, you could still recover 20% of your damages.

    On the other hand, modified comparative negligence limits compensation to cases where the injured person is less than 50% or 51% at fault, depending on the state. if your fault exceeds this limit, you cannot recover damages. 

    Understanding your state’s negligence standard applies is crucial in assessing a claim’s viability because they directly impact whether you can make a claim and how much compensation you might receive. If your state follows contributory negligence, even a small mistake could prevent you from getting any money.