Comparative responsibility

Comparative responsibility, known as comparative fault in some jurisdictions, is a doctrine of tort law that compares the fault of each party in a lawsuit for a single injury. It may apply to intentional torts as well as negligence and encompasses the doctrine of comparative negligence. The fault is divided among the parties by percentages, and the money awarded to the plaintiff is divided accordingly, so that a plaintiff found to be 25 percent at fault can recover only 75 percent of his damages. The doctrine becomes intricate when the plaintiff shares in the fault, when a defendant who has a share of the fault cannot be included in the suit, when one of the defendants cannot pay, and when charges of both negligence and intentional torts appear in the same action.