In some medical malpractice cases, a plaintiff could be held partially to blame for their injuries. This may occur if a patient failed to disclose important information to their doctor or did not follow clear medical instructions. To account for shared fault, New York Civil Practice Law & Rules §1411 instructs courts to use the comparative fault doctrine when awarding damages.
During a trial, the court determines how much fault the plaintiff and the defendant each bear. If the court finds a plaintiff does carry some fault, the amount of damages awarded would be reduced by the corresponding percentage of fault. For example, if the court determined that the plaintiff was 30 percent at fault for their injuries, any damage awards would be reduced by 30 percent.