Indiana's rule: barred only when you exceed 50%
Under Ind. Code § 34-51-2-6, if a claimant is found to be more than 50% responsible for their own injuries, they are barred from recovering any compensation. Read the other way: a claimant found 50% or less at fault is not barred, and their damages are instead reduced in proportion to their own share of fault.
The 50/51 distinction, precisely
A claimant found exactly 50% at fault still recovers half of their damages under Indiana's rule, because 50% is not more than 50%. A claimant found 51% at fault recovers nothing at all. This is what makes Indiana a genuine "51% rule" state, more forgiving than the smaller group of states that bar recovery at fault merely equal to the defendant's.
Worked example
Someone with $100,000 in damages, found 30% at fault, recovers $70,000 — reduced by their own share, since 30% is not more than 50%. That same person, found 51% at fault instead, recovers nothing at all, even though their share of responsibility only shifted by a single percentage point past the midpoint.
The same rule, even against a government entity
Indiana's comparative negligence principles generally apply the same way to a claim against a government entity as they do to a claim against a private party — the fault comparison itself doesn't change. What does change is the separate, much shorter Tort Claims Act notice process that has to be satisfied first before a government claim can even proceed to that fault comparison.
Why the fight over fault stays intense near the 50/51 line
Because the practical difference between a 50% finding and a 51% finding is the difference between a substantial recovery and zero, insurers have a real, concentrated incentive to argue a claimant's fault upward toward that exact threshold. See our guide to how adjusters build a fault argument in Indiana for what that negotiation actually looks like.