Connecticut's rule: barred only when your fault exceeds theirs
Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-572h(b), contributory negligence does not bar recovery in a negligence action so long as the claimant's negligence was not greater than the combined negligence of the person or persons against whom recovery is sought. In practical terms: a claimant found 50% at fault can still recover half their damages, because 50% is not greater than the combined 50% attributed to the other side. Only once the claimant's own negligence exceeds 50% — reaching 51% — does recovery get barred entirely.
A genuinely important wrinkle: settled and released persons count too
The statute goes further than comparing the claimant against just the remaining active defendants. It explicitly includes "settled or released persons" in the combined negligence pool the claimant is measured against. This means that even if one or more parties have already resolved their part of the case through settlement, their assigned share of fault can still be factored into the combined total used to determine whether the claimant's own fault crosses the 51% line.
Worked example
Someone with $200,000 in damages, found 25% at fault while the remaining defendants are collectively found 75% at fault, recovers $150,000 — reduced by their own 25% share, since that's well under the combined 75% on the other side. That same person, found 51% at fault against a combined 49% on the other side, recovers nothing at all.
Why the exact 50/51 distinction matters so much
Connecticut's phrasing — barring recovery only when the claimant's fault is greater than, not merely equal to, the combined fault of the other side — is what makes this a genuine "51% rule" rather than the stricter "50% rule" some other states use. A claimant exactly at the 50/50 midpoint still recovers something in Connecticut; the same claimant would recover nothing in a 50%-bar state.
Why insurers push hard on this exact threshold
Because the practical difference between a 50/50 finding and a 51/49 finding is the difference between a substantial recovery and zero, insurers have a real, concentrated incentive to argue a claimant's fault upward specifically toward that 51% line. See our guide to how adjusters build a fault argument in Connecticut for what that negotiation looks like.