Your lawyer will need to know whether your state applies comparative or contributory negligence because it can significantly affect your compensation in a personal injury claim. You can divide states with comparative negligence laws into those that use pure comparative negligence (where you can recover damages regardless of your degree of fault) and those that use modified comparative negligence (where you can recover damages only if your fault is below a certain threshold, usually 50 percent). The states that practice contributory negligence include: Alabama District of Columbia Maryland North Carolina Virginia Those with pure comparative negligence laws include: Alaska Arizona California Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi Missouri New Mexico New York Rhode Island Washington Those with modified comparative negligence laws include: Arkansas Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Idaho Iowa Kansas Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Montana. Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming An experienced personal injury attorney who understands your state's negligence laws can explainate these intricate legal concepts and guide you on the best course of action based on your circumstances.