In many cases, both parties in an accident share some degree of fault. However, a person injured in an accident can still recover damages even if they are partially to blame for the incident. California follows a “pure comparative negligence” law. This means that a plaintiff (the person injured) can still receive compensation regardless of how much they contributed to the incident.
However, the amount of compensation they receive will be reduced based on how much they contributed to the incident. For example, if a plaintiff is awarded $100,000 and damages but was found to be 20% at fault for the incident, they will only receive $80,000 in total compensation.