In a typical tort lawsuit, the injured party is the plaintiff who brings suit against a defendant who is allegedly liable for causing that harm. However, that defendant might be able to lessen liability, in whole or in part, by asserting that the plaintiff is subject to contributory negligence or comparative negligence.

What is the legally significant difference between contributory negligence and comparative negligence?

• A. Contributory negligence means the plaintiff did something that helped to cause harm to themselves and therefore the defendant is excused from liability, and comparative negligence means that the plaintiff's award for damages from the defendant will be reduced by the percentage of responsibility the plaintiff has for their own injury.
• B. Contributory negligence means that an intervening cause was responsible for the injury to the plaintiff, and comparative negligence means that all parties were acting reasonably and no one is responsible for the injury (it was just an accident).
• C. Contributory negligence means the plaintiff injured the defendant, and comparative negligence means that multiple defendants have joint and several liability for any harm done.

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A Contributory negligence means the plaintiff did something that h... View the full answer