California is a “comparative fault” state. This means that if a victim is partially at fault for the accident, the jury will be asked to determine the percentage of the blame that lies with the defendant, and the percentage that lies with the victim. The victim will be entitled to collect only that percentage of the verdict for which the defendant is responsible. For example, if a jury determines that the victim was 30% at fault for causing the accident, and the defendant was 70% responsible, the victim can collect only 70% of the jury’s verdict.
Some states do not allow a victim who is more than 50% liable for causing the accident to receive any compensation at all. That’s not the rule in California. California law allows the victim to collect the appropriate percentage of the jury’s verdict, even if the jury determines she was more than 50% responsible.