Once a plaintiff makes an accusation of negligence against the defendant, the defendant has the opportunity either to answer the charge with a legal justification for the alleged misconduct or to demonstrate that the plaintiff's own actions contributed in part or totally to his or her injuries.
States have either contributory negligence or comparative negligence.
These defenses can reduce or eliminate the amount of damages the plaintiff will get if he or she contributed to his or her own injuries. In states with contributory negligence, if the plaintiff's own carelessness or recklessness contributed to his or her injury, the defendant is not liable. For example, suppose someone slips and falls in an icy parking lot, but at the time of the fall, the individual was horsing around with friends. While the landowner is responsible for cleaning and salting the area, the individual's own negligence contributed to the accident. Therefore, in a state that allows the contributory negligence defense, the defendant may not be liable.