Maryland/Washington, D.C. Personal Injury Law – What is Contributory Negligence?

For Personal Injury cases in Maryland and Washington, D.C. an issue that almost always arises is that of contributory negligence. So, what is contributory negligence and how does it impact a personal injury lawsuit?

Put simply, contributory negligence is when the injured Plaintiff bears some responsibility for the injury they suffered. Now, how that impacts a potential personal injury case varies from state to state. Maryland, and Washington, D.C. are jurisdictions where a Plaintiff cannot recover damages from a Defendant when the Plaintiff negligently contributed to their injury in any way.

However, as opposed to Maryland and D.C., the vast majority of states have adopted some version of comparative negligence under which a Plaintiff can still sue for damages even if they were partially responsible for causing their own injuries. This has led some to question if Maryland and Washington, D.C. will eventually change their personal injury laws in the future.

The information contained in this article is general in nature and is not offered as legal advice or medical advice for any particular situation nor do they in any way create a legal relationship. The opinions and conclusions in this blog post are solely those of the author, are for general informational purposes only and not directed at any specific case or to be construed as legal advice. Any links provided by the author in this article are for informational purposes only and by doing so, the author does not adopt or incorporate their contents. The Law Office of David Wasser operates throughout Maryland and Washington D.C., including Rockville, Gaithersburg, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Potomac, Germantown, Frederick, Hagerstown, and Baltimore.

Our writers used secondary sources when writing this accident news post. These sources include but are not limited to local news sources, local and state police reports, social media posts, and eyewitness accounts about accidents that take place in and around Maryland and Washington, D.C. We have not independently verified all of the facts surrounding this accident, therefore, if you find any information that is not correct, please contact The Law Office of David Wasser immediately so that we can update the post. The photo used in this post was not taken at the accident scene.

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