A.R.S. § 12-2505 — Pure Comparative Negligence in Arizona

How the rule works

The defense of contributory negligence is preserved in Arizona only as comparative: the claimant’s damages are reduced in proportion to their share of fault, whatever that share is. A person found 30 percent at fault recovers 70 percent of their damages; a person found 90 percent at fault still recovers 10 percent. There is no bar at 50 or 51 percent, unlike most states. The statute’s exception runs the other way — a claimant who intentionally caused or contributed to their own injury recovers nothing.

Several-only liability

The companion statute, A.R.S. § 12-2506, abolished joint and several liability in most cases: each defendant pays only their own percentage of fault. Defendants can also point to nonparties at fault, which spreads percentages onto empty chairs. In multi-vehicle crashes and premises cases, who is in the case — and who is merely named as a nonparty — materially changes what any judgment is worth.

What it means in a real claim

Fault percentages are decided by juries and negotiated by adjusters, and every point moved is money: on a $200,000 claim, shifting a claimant from 10 to 30 percent at fault costs $40,000. That is why recorded statements get requested early and why “you were speeding too” shows up in nearly every file. Evidence — scene photos, data recorders, witness accounts, reconstruction — is what holds percentages where they belong. See the car accident page for how fault is contested in the most common cases.