What if I was partly at fault?
Florida changed this in 2023, and the change is significant.
The current rule. A party found greater than 50 percent at fault for their own harm recovers nothing. Below that, recovery is reduced in proportion to fault — 30% at fault means recovering 70% of damages.
The precision matters. The bar is *greater than* 50 percent. At exactly 50 percent, recovery is reduced by half rather than eliminated. A lot of published content states the rule as "51% or more," which describes the same outcome in most cases but misplaces the line — and in a genuinely even case, that's the whole claim.
Before 2023, Florida used pure comparative negligence, and a plaintiff 99% at fault could still recover 1%. That's no longer true.
The practical consequence. Insurers now have a powerful incentive to push your fault above the line, because doing so eliminates the claim entirely rather than reducing it. Expect that argument, and expect it early.
Medical negligence claims are the exception and retain pure comparative negligence.
They'll try to get you past 50%. Every fact that pushes it down is worth developing. ---
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