One of the most common reasons people never call a lawyer is the belief that they were partly to blame, so they must have no case. In Connecticut, that belief is usually wrong. You can be partly at fault and still recover money. But there is a hard cutoff, and every percentage point assigned to you comes directly out of your pocket. Understanding how the rule works is the difference between accepting a lowball offer and knowing what your claim is actually worth.
The Rule: Modified Comparative Negligence With a 51 Percent Bar
Connecticut’s comparative fault rule lives in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-572h. The statute says that being partly negligent does not bar your recovery as long as your negligence was not greater than the combined negligence of the parties you are suing.
In practice that means two things:
If you are 50 percent or less at fault, you recover, but your award is reduced by your share. A verdict of $200,000 with 25 percent fault assigned to you becomes $150,000.
If you are 51 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Not a reduced amount. Nothing.
Note the word “combined.” Your fault is measured against all the defendants added together, not against each one separately. If you are 40 percent at fault and two defendants are 30 percent each, you still recover, because 40 is not greater than 60.
Why Insurers Fight So Hard Over Small Percentages
Because comparative fault is a straight subtraction, an adjuster who convinces you that you were 30 percent responsible has just cut your claim by nearly a third without disputing a single medical bill. That is far easier than arguing your injuries are not real.
The tactics are predictable. Recorded statements are used to get you to say something like “I probably could have stopped sooner.” Questions about your speed, your phone, or whether you saw the other vehicle are designed to produce an admission. Our guide to dealing with insurance companies covers how these conversations are structured and what you are not obligated to provide.
One point worth knowing: Connecticut courts have held that failing to wear a seat belt does not amount to contributory negligence in a civil injury case. If an adjuster raises it, that argument has limits.
How Fault Gets Divided Among Multiple Defendants
When more than one party caused the crash, the jury assigns each a percentage. Under the statute, each defendant is generally responsible only for its own proportionate share of the damages rather than the entire award. A defendant found 20 percent at fault pays 20 percent.
There is an important exception. If one defendant’s share turns out to be uncollectible, for example because the company folded or carried no insurance, you can move to reopen the judgment and ask the court to reallocate that uncollectible portion among the remaining defendants. There are strict requirements, including a showing of good faith collection efforts and a motion filed within one year after the judgment becomes final.
Settlements matter here too. If you settle with one party and go to trial against another, the total award is reduced by the settling party’s percentage of fault. This is one reason the sequence and structure of settlements deserves careful thought, particularly in multi-defendant truck cases where a carrier, a driver, a broker, and a maintenance contractor may all be in play.
When Comparative Fault Does Not Apply
The statute governs negligence. It does not extend to every kind of claim.
Connecticut courts have held that contributory negligence is not a defense to recklessness. If a jury finds the defendant’s conduct was reckless rather than merely careless, your own negligence does not reduce the award. That distinction can be significant in cases involving drunk driving, extreme speeding, or a trucking company that knowingly ignored safety rules.
The statute also bars apportionment between parties liable for negligence and parties liable on some other basis, such as intentional misconduct or strict product liability. And two old defenses, last clear chance and assumption of risk, were abolished outright by the statute.
What Actually Determines Your Percentage
Fault percentages are not calculated by formula. A jury decides them, guided by the civil jury instructions the judge reads, and they are driven almost entirely by evidence.
Skid marks, vehicle damage patterns, traffic camera footage, black box data, and the physical geometry of the scene often tell a clearer story than either driver’s memory. In pedestrian and motorcycle cases especially, where riders and pedestrians are frequently blamed by default, accident reconstruction can move a fault percentage substantially. Our guides on what evidence you need and understanding liability explain how that record gets built, and how proving negligence fits alongside it.
If you are a rider or were struck while walking, see our motorcycle accident and pedestrian accident pages for how these fault disputes typically unfold.
Do Not Assign Yourself a Percentage
People routinely decide they were mostly at fault based on a feeling, then never pursue a claim that had real value. Fault is a legal determination made against evidence, not a self assessment made in the days after a crash while you are hurt and shaken.
Talk with a Waterbury personal injury lawyer or a car accident lawyer before you concede anything to an adjuster. Etemi Law also represents injured people in Hartford, Stamford, and New Britain. Contact us for a free consultation.