Short answer. In Connecticut, you can recover damages if your own negligence wasn’t greater than the combined negligence of the people you’re suing. Your award shrinks by your share of the fault.
This is called modified comparative negligence. It’s kinder than the rule in some states and harsher than in others.
The statute
Under CGS 52-572h(b), contributory negligence doesn’t block recovery in a negligence action for personal injury, wrongful death or property damage if the claimant’s negligence was not greater than the combined negligence of the defendants. Any economic or noneconomic damages are reduced by the claimant’s percentage of negligence.
In plain numbers, a driver found 30 percent at fault recovers 70 percent of the damages. At exactly 50 percent, the driver still recovers half. At 51 percent, the claim fails.
“Combined” negligence
The comparison is against the defendants together, not each one separately. In a three-car crash on I-91, an injured driver who was 40 percent at fault, suing two other drivers who were 30 percent each, can still recover, because 40 isn’t greater than 60.
The statute also accounts for people who settled or were released, which can affect how fault and payment are divided at trial.
How insurers use the rule
Adjusters assign percentages early. They may argue you were speeding on Asylum Avenue, didn’t look before pulling out, or were distracted. Each percentage point cuts the offer. A large share can make an insurer deny the claim outright.
What helps you
- Photos of the scene, lane markings, signals and damage.
- The police report, including any citations. See getting a Hartford crash report.
- Witness names and phone numbers.
- Video from dashcams, businesses, or buses.
- A careful approach to taped statements to the other driver’s insurer.
Reckless drivers
When the other driver was drunk, racing, or recklessly speeding, Connecticut allows double or triple damages in some cases. See double and treble damages.
Evidence, official reports and the clocks around a comparative-fault dispute
The rule in CGS 52-572h lets a plaintiff recover if that person’s negligence is not greater than the combined negligence of the defendants, with the award reduced by the plaintiff’s percentage. The official crash report will not decide that percentage by itself, but the narrative and the diagram are often the first papers an insurer relies on. Ask Hartford Police for the report number at the scene. The report office is at 253 High Street, at (860) 757-4150, open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Reports are often ready in 7 to 15 business days, and the copy fee is 50 cents a page, per the Hartford Police report page. Photograph the travel lanes, the signals and the vehicles on Farmington Avenue, Albany Avenue or the I-84 ramp while the scene has not been reset.
The ordinary injury period is two years from the date the injury is sustained or discovered, and no more than three years from the act, under CGS 52-584. A death claim is generally two years measured from death, and no more than five years from the act, under CGS 52-555. If a town or State road defect may be involved, written notice is generally due within 90 days under CGS 13a-149 or CGS 13a-144. Those shorter notices can expire while the parties are still arguing percentages.
When a driver was drunk, racing or recklessly speeding, Connecticut allows double or treble damages in some cases under CGS 14-295, if a qualifying statutory violation is specifically pleaded and was a substantial factor. Comparative fault still applies in those cases. Ordinary liability minimums are $25,000 and $50,000 for injury to the person, plus $25,000 for damage to property, and UM or UIM coverage generally has to at least match the bodily-injury limits under CGS 38a-336. A claim that survives the 51 percent cutoff still needs usable coverage, or UIM, if those minimums are thin.
The Office of Victim Services generally allows three years to apply, with a police report, and may pay up to $15,000 for physical injury, $25,000 for a survivor and $6,000 for funeral costs. Call 1-888-286-7347. That program is separate from the civil claim. Hartford Superior Court for the Judicial District of Hartford is at 95 Washington Street, Hartford, CT 06106. The civil clerk can be reached at (860) 548-2700. Civil filing fees change, and the official chart has a $360 civil fee, a $230 fee for some lower-amount cases, a $95 small-claims fee, a $125 transfer fee and a $440 jury fee. Confirm the current amounts on the Judicial Branch pages before you pay. Small claims generally go up to $5,000. Skip a recorded interview until a lawyer has reviewed the facts with you, and keep the official report, the photos and every bill in one envelope.
If a pedestrian or cyclist was involved, Connecticut law requires drivers to yield in a crosswalk, including when a person is already showing an intent to cross, and the crosswalk fine was raised to $750 as of October 2025, per the DMV new-laws page. A vulnerable-user violation can carry a fine up to $1,000 under CGS 14-300i. Those traffic rules are not a substitute for the comparative-fault statute, but they often become part of the percentage argument. Get follow-up care in writing, and keep the official report with the scene photos.
Questions to ask a lawyer
- How is fault likely to be split in my crash?
- Who else might share fault, like a second driver or a road contractor?
- How does fault affect my UIM claim with my own insurer?
General information only, not legal advice.