The more common modified comparative threshold
Among the US states that use some form of modified comparative negligence, a majority use the more forgiving 51% threshold — recovery is barred only once the claimant's fault actually exceeds the defendant's. A smaller group of 12 states uses a stricter 50% version instead, where recovery is barred at fault merely equal to the other side's.
The 21 states using a 51% bar
Michigan's peer group under this more common threshold is: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana (for accidents from 2026 onward), Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
A broadly consistent Midwestern number
Michigan has real company close to home: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio all share the same 51% threshold, making the broader Midwest fairly consistent on this specific number — though, as Michigan itself demonstrates, sharing a threshold doesn't necessarily mean sharing every detail of how it's applied.
A genuinely distinctive application within this shared group
Here's the detail that sets Michigan apart from most of this list. Under MCL 600.2959, Michigan's 51% bar applies specifically to non-economic damages — pain and suffering, emotional distress — not to economic damages like medical bills and lost wages, which remain potentially recoverable, reduced proportionally, even above that threshold. Most of the other 20 states in this group apply their 51% bar to the entire claim, without this economic/non-economic split.
Why this matters in a disputed claim
Because none of these 21 states bars recovery at an even 50/50 split, a disputed fault percentage near the midpoint still results in meaningful recovery across the group — but in Michigan specifically, even crossing well past 51% doesn't necessarily mean a total loss, given the surviving economic-damages category. See our full comparison of how Michigan's rule fits among all four fault systems for the complete picture.