Yes. California follows “pure comparative negligence,” which means you can recover damages even if you were partly — or even mostly — at fault for an accident. Your compensation is simply reduced by your percentage of fault. Being partially responsible lowers a claim; it does not erase it.
One of the most common reasons injured people don’t call a lawyer is the belief that because they were partly to blame, they have no case. In California, that belief is usually wrong — and acting on it can mean leaving a legitimate recovery on the table.
What “pure comparative negligence” means
California is a pure comparative negligence state. When more than one person shares responsibility for an accident, fault is divided among them by percentage, and each injured party’s recovery is reduced by their own share. Critically, there’s no cutoff: even a person found 90% at fault can still recover the remaining 10% of their damages. This is different from many other states, which bar recovery once your fault crosses 50%.
Suppose your total damages are $100,000, and a jury finds you were 20% at fault for the crash while the other driver was 80% at fault. Your recovery is reduced by your 20% share — leaving $80,000. Same facts but 40% at fault? You’d recover $60,000.
Why insurers push the fault number
Because every percentage point of fault assigned to you directly reduces what the insurer pays, adjusters have a strong incentive to argue you were more responsible than you were. This is one reason early recorded statements and casual admissions matter so much — they’re often used to build the case that you share more blame. How fault is investigated and presented can move the outcome substantially.
Fault isn’t always obvious
Apportioning fault is rarely as clear as it first seems. Police reports, witness accounts, vehicle damage, traffic-camera footage, and the road conditions all factor in, and an initial assumption about who was “at fault” frequently shifts once the evidence is examined. The percentage isn’t fixed at the scene — it’s something to be established.
If you’ve been told you were partly to blame, that’s a reason to get advice, not to give up. Our personal injury practice can evaluate how fault is likely to be apportioned in your case and what it means for your claim.