Vermont Statutes Title 12 Sec. 1036
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 12 Sec. 1036
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
§ 1036. Comparative negligence
Contributory negligence shall not bar recovery in an action by any plaintiff, or his or her legal representative, to recover damages for negligence resulting in death, personal injury, or property damage, if the negligence was not greater than the causal total negligence of the defendant or defendants, but the damage shall be diminished by general verdict in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to the plaintiff. Where recovery is allowed against more than one defendant, each defendant shall be liable for that proportion of the total dollar amount awarded as damages in the ratio of the amount of his or her causal negligence to the amount of causal negligence attributed to all defendants against whom recovery is allowed. (Added 1969, No. 234 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. date see note; amended 1979, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 5, 1980.)