South Carolina’s Comparative Negligence Rule

South Carolina’s Comparative Negligence Rule is the law that determines how fault is allocated in civil lawsuits due to negligence. The Comparative Negligence Rule applies when two or more parties have both caused some type of harm to another person, company, or property. This is a legal concept also referred to as contributory negligence. In South Carolina, it is possible to assign a percentage of fault to more than one party in an accident or injury situation. This means that no one is allowed to escape all of the legal responsibility if they are found to have caused the injury.

When evaluating the question of fault, South Carolina has adopted a Modified Comparative Negligence system. Under the Modified Comparative Negligence Rule, the sole determining factor for assessing fault is the percentage of negligence on the part of the plaintiff. If the plaintiff is found to have been 50% or more negligent in causing the injury or damage, then they cannot recover any compensation from the other party to the lawsuit. However, if the plaintiff is found to have been less than 50% negligent in causing the injury or damage, then they can seek compensation from the other party, but the amount of compensation will be reduced by the amount of contributory negligence the plaintiff themselves had in causing the injury or damage.

For example, if a plaintiff is found to have been 20% negligent in causing an injury, they could still recover compensation from the other party, but the amount will be reduced by 20%. This means that the other party could still be held responsible for the entire cost of the injury or damage, minus the 20% the plaintiff had in causing it.

It should be noted that the Modified Comparative Negligence Rule in South Carolina applies to contributory negligence based on the actions of the plaintiff, not the actions of any third party. This means that a plaintiff cannot be found to be negligent in causing an injury if they were not the one responsible for causing it, no matter how much care they exercised in trying to avoid it.

In evaluating the facts of a case, a South Carolina court attempting to apply the Comparative Negligence Rule will consider a variety of factors including the circumstances leading up to the incident, the degree of negligence of each party, and the proportionate fault of each party in causing the injury or damage. The court will then use these factors to determine the percentage of negligence that each party had in causing the injury or damage.

In addition to the Modified Comparative Negligence Rule, the courts in South Carolina can apply the doctrine of joint and several liability when assessing fault for an injury-causing incident. Under the doctrine of joint and several liability, the court assigns a separate level of liability to each party involved in the incident. This means that, while the courts may assign a certain percentage of fault to each party, each party is still responsible for the entire amount of damages awarded to the plaintiff.

For example, if a jury finds that two parties are 90% and 10% responsible, respectively, for a plaintiff’s injuries, then each party can still be held liable for the full amount of the plaintiff’s damages. This means that, if the jury awards the plaintiff $100,000 in damages, both parties will be responsible for paying the entirety of this amount.

The doctrine of joint and several liability can be beneficial for a plaintiff because it ensures that they will receive the full compensation for their injuries, regardless of which party is found to be primarily responsible for causing them. This is especially true if one of the respondent parties has limited resources or is insolvent.

Ultimately, South Carolina’s Comparative Negligence Rule serves to fairly distribute the cost of a negligent injury across any parties who have contributed to it. By assigning a proportionate degree of fault to each participant in the incident, South Carolina’s courts can ensure that plaintiff’s are adequately compensated for their injury or damages, even if the primary responsible party cannot pay for the full amount.