Which rule permits the plaintiff to recover damages reduced by the plaintiff's own percentage of fault?

• A. Forty nine percent comparative negligence rule
• B. Pure comparative negligence rule
• C. Last clear chance doctrine
• D. Exclusive control

Answer: (B)

In comparative negligence, damages are allocated based on each party’s share of fault. The rule that lets the plaintiff recover damages reduced by the plaintiff’s own percentage of fault is the pure comparative negligence rule. It means the plaintiff’s recovery is simply reduced by their own fault, no matter how large that fault is (even if the plaintiff is mostly at fault, you still recover the remaining amount proportionate to non-fault).

The forty nine percent comparative negligence rule is a modified approach that bars recovery if the plaintiff’s fault reaches a certain threshold (often around 50%), so recovery isn’t allowed in high-fault scenarios. The last clear chance doctrine is an older principle about who had the last opportunity to avoid the accident, not about reducing damages by fault percentage. Exclusive control is a different doctrine used to assign liability when the defendant had exclusive control of the instrumentality causing the harm.