California is a pure comparative fault state. If you are found partly responsible for the crash or fall that injured you, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault — but it is not eliminated, even if your share is large.
That single rule shapes almost every injury negotiation in Los Angeles. An insurer that cannot dispute your injuries can still cut what it pays by arguing you contributed to what happened. Understanding how fault percentages are built, and what evidence moves them, is often worth more to a claim than any argument about damages.
I am Brandon Aminpour, and I handle injury matters from my Miracle Mile office. Below is a plain-language walk through the rule and the practical fights it creates.
What pure comparative fault actually means
California abandoned the old all-or-nothing contributory negligence rule in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975). Under the pure comparative approach that replaced it, a jury assigns each party a percentage of responsibility and the injured person's award is reduced by their own percentage.
- If your total damages are found to be a given amount and you are 20 percent at fault, you recover 80 percent of that amount.
- Unlike many states, California has no 50 percent cutoff. A person found 80 percent at fault still recovers 20 percent.
- Fault can be spread across several parties — another driver, a vehicle manufacturer, a property owner, or a public entity.
California Civil Code section 1431.2, added by Proposition 51, splits this further: defendants are jointly liable for economic damages such as medical bills and lost earnings, but each pays non-economic damages only in proportion to its own share of fault.
How adjusters use fault percentages
Comparative fault rarely arrives as a formal legal argument. It shows up as a number in an offer letter, usually without much explanation. Common positions I see in Los Angeles claims include:
Speed and attention
An adjuster may argue that even a driver with a green light could have avoided the collision. Data from an event data recorder, signal timing records, or a dashcam file often answers this directly.
Pedestrian and cyclist conduct
Crossing outside a marked crosswalk is not automatically fault-ending. Vehicle Code section 21954 requires a pedestrian outside a crosswalk to yield, but drivers still owe a duty of due care. Lighting, sight lines, and the driver's speed all matter. Our pedestrian accident page covers those duties in more detail.
Premises cases
In a fall claim, the argument is usually that the hazard was open and obvious. The response is normally about the property owner's inspection routine and how long the hazard existed. See our premises liability page.
Seat belts and helmets
California allows a seat belt defense in limited circumstances, and it applies to the injuries a belt would have prevented — not to fault for the collision itself. Motorcycle claims raise a parallel argument, discussed on our motorcycle accident page.
Evidence that moves a fault percentage
A fault percentage is an argument, not a finding, until a jury says otherwise. What tends to change it:
- Scene imaging taken early. Skid marks, debris fields, and sight-line photographs disappear within days.
- Nearby camera footage. Businesses and residences along Wilshire and other major corridors frequently overwrite recordings within one to two weeks, so written preservation requests need to go out quickly.
- Vehicle data. Many modern vehicles record pre-impact speed, braking, and throttle position.
- Independent witnesses. A neutral observer's statement is usually harder to discount than either driver's account.
- The traffic collision report — read critically. An officer's opinion about fault is not binding, and reports are sometimes prepared without input from an injured person who was transported from the scene.
Fault arguments and the clock
Most California personal injury claims are governed by a two-year deadline under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Claims against a public entity are far shorter: Government Code section 911.2 generally requires a written claim within six months of the incident for personal injury. Because fault disputes turn on evidence that decays quickly, waiting to investigate usually costs more than waiting to file. You can check the general timing rules with our statute of limitations tool.
What to do if you are told you were partly at fault
- Ask the adjuster, in writing, what facts support the percentage. A number without support is often negotiable.
- Do not agree to a recorded statement about fault before you have reviewed the report and the scene evidence.
- Write down your own account while it is fresh, including weather, lighting, and where you were looking.
- Keep treatment consistent. Gaps in care are frequently used to argue that injuries came from something else, which is a separate reduction on top of any fault share.
If you want a second read on a fault percentage you have been given, you can reach my office and walk through it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still recover if I was mostly at fault in California?
Yes. California uses pure comparative fault, so there is no percentage bar to recovery. An award is reduced by your share, so a person found mostly responsible recovers a correspondingly smaller portion of their damages.
Who decides my percentage of fault?
If a case is tried, the jury decides. Before that, the percentage is whatever the parties argue and ultimately agree on in settlement, which is why the supporting evidence matters so much.
Does the police report decide fault?
No. A traffic collision report is an officer's opinion based on limited information gathered at the scene. It is influential with adjusters but is not binding in court, and it can be contradicted by video, vehicle data, or witnesses.
Does not wearing a seat belt end my claim?
No. California permits a limited seat belt defense that goes to the injuries a belt would have prevented, not to responsibility for the collision. It reduces rather than eliminates a claim.
This is general information, not legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.