Four systems, and Illinois uses the more common middle version
American fault law splits into four real categories: pure comparative negligence, modified comparative negligence with a 50% bar, modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar, and pure contributory negligence. Illinois uses the 51% bar — the more typical of the two modified thresholds nationally.
Illinois's rule: barred only when you exceed 50%
Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, a claimant is barred from recovery only if their fault is more than 50% of the proximate cause. A claimant at exactly 50% still recovers half their damages; only crossing to 51% bars recovery entirely.
The stricter alternative: a 50% bar
A smaller group of about 12 states, including Georgia and Idaho, use a stricter version: recovery is barred the moment the claimant's fault is equal to the defendant's, not only when it exceeds it. A claimant at exactly 50% recovers nothing in those states, while the same claimant recovers a meaningful amount in Illinois.
Pure comparative negligence: the more forgiving alternative
At the more forgiving end of the spectrum, pure comparative negligence states — including California and Florida for most claims — never bar recovery for ordinary fault at all, no matter how high the claimant's percentage climbs. Illinois's approach produces a very different outcome the moment fault exceeds the 50% mark.
Contributory negligence: the strictest extreme
At the far other end sit the five contributory negligence jurisdictions — Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia — where any fault at all, even 1%, bars recovery entirely. See our guide to the other states using a 51% bar for Illinois's closest peer group nationally.