Massachusetts's rule: barred only when you exceed the defendants
Under M.G.L. c. 231, § 85, contributory negligence does not bar recovery as long as the claimant's negligence "was not greater than the total amount of negligence attributable to the person or persons against whom recovery is sought." Damages are reduced in proportion to the claimant's own degree of fault — but only once that fault actually exceeds 50%, reaching 51%, does recovery get barred entirely.
The 50/51 distinction, precisely
A claimant found exactly 50% at fault still recovers half of their damages under Massachusetts's rule, because 50% is not greater than the defendants' combined 50%. A claimant found 51% at fault recovers nothing at all. This precise phrasing is what makes Massachusetts 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 10% at fault, recovers $90,000. Someone found 51% at fault instead — even by a single percentage point over the line — recovers nothing at all. A claimant 99% at fault still recovers nothing, no different in outcome from one at exactly 51%; once the line is crossed, the exact margin stops mattering.
Replacing an older, stricter rule
Massachusetts has used this modified comparative negligence system since 1969, when § 85 replaced the state's older contributory negligence rule, under which any fault at all on the claimant's part would have barred recovery entirely — the same rule still used today in states like Maryland and Virginia.
A citation doesn't settle the question on its own
Under § 85, a traffic citation is treated as evidence of negligence for the jury to weigh, not as conclusive proof that the cited party caused the accident. The citation alone doesn't determine or bar the civil claim, which is a separate process from any related traffic enforcement matter.
Why the fight over fault stays intense near the 50/51 line
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 toward that exact threshold. See our guide to how adjusters build a fault argument in Massachusetts for what that negotiation actually looks like.