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 reaches that level. 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
South Carolina'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, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
A genuine contrast right next door
South Carolina's neighbor North Carolina does not share this rule at all. North Carolina still follows pure contributory negligence, one of only five such jurisdictions nationally, barring recovery entirely for any plaintiff fault, even 1%. Cross that state line, and the exact same accident can produce a dramatically different outcome depending on which side the claimant's fault falls.
A genuinely distinctive application within this shared group
Here's where South Carolina stands apart from much of this list. Its 1988 liability reform uses the same 50% threshold that shapes the recovery bar's neighborhood for a second, entirely separate purpose: deciding whether a defendant faces joint and several liability or pays only their own share. Several other states in this 51%-bar group handle multi-defendant liability through different mechanisms entirely, making South Carolina's dual-purpose use of this one number a genuinely distinctive feature.
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 — and in South Carolina specifically, that same midpoint also determines how a judgment against multiple defendants actually gets divided up. See our full comparison of how South Carolina's rule fits among all four fault systems for the complete picture.