Negligence

California personal injury lawsuits usually involve claims of negligence, although there are certain cases that are strict liability.  Under California law, a plaintiff establishes negligence by showing:  (1( the defendant had a duty to conform to a certain standard of care to protect the plaintiff from unreasonable risk, (2( the defendant breached that duty, (3( the defendant's breach proximately caused the plaintiff's injury, and (4( the plaintiff suffered damages

In some personal injury cases, it turns out the plaintiff was partly at fault in causing his or her injury. In 1975, California became a comparative negligence state.  This doctrine permits a jury to compare the negligence of the plaintiff with the negligence of the defendant and decide damages accordingly. If the jury finds the plaintiff ten percent negligent in a car accident, and the defendant 90 percent negligent, the defendant has to pay only 90 percent of the damage award. But if the jury finds the plaintiff 90 percent negligent in the accident, and the defendant ten percent negligent, the defendant has to pay only ten percent of any damage award.