Which doctrine bars recovery if the plaintiff's own negligence contributed to the harm?

• A. Contributory negligence
• B. Res ipsa loquitur
• C. Exclusive control
• D. Pure comparative negligence rule

Answer: (A)

Contributory negligence is the doctrine that bars recovery when the plaintiff’s own negligent conduct contributed to the harm. Under this rule, if the plaintiff’s fault helped cause the injury, they cannot recover anything, even if the defendant was also negligent. It’s an all-or-nothing rule: any degree of plaintiff fault defeats the claim.

This differs from pure comparative negligence, which would still allow some recovery but reduce damages in proportion to the plaintiff’s fault. Res ipsa loquitur isn't about barring recovery; it’s a way to infer negligence from the facts of the occurrence. Exclusive control is a separate defense that can limit liability when the plaintiff had exclusive control of the instrumentality and the defendant’s fault is hard to prove.