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Comparative Fault Settlement Calculator

What is the case worth once the plaintiff's own share of fault comes off the top, and which defendant can actually be made to pay it? Enter the damages, the plaintiff's percentage of fault and up to five defendants (with their fault and any settlements). The calculator applies the state's comparative-fault rule (pure, modified 50% or 51% bar, contributory negligence, or South Dakota's slight/gross rule), then each defendant's exposure under the state's joint-and-several or several-only rule, shows how settlements shift the remaining exposure under the two common setoff approaches, and prints a sensitivity table across plaintiff fault from 0% to 60%. Every rule is cited and flagged as a starting point to verify. For attorneys, claims professionals, legal nurse consultants and mediators.

Per-defendant exposure under the state's joint / several rule

Effect of settlements on the non-settling defendants

Two common approaches, shown side by side. Pro tanto credits the dollars the settling defendants paid against the judgment. Proportionate share removes the settling defendants' percentage of fault from what the plaintiff can recover, regardless of what they paid. Which one your state uses (and whether it depends on the release form, e.g., a Pierringer release) is a question to verify; the state note below is a pointer, not the rule.

Sensitivity: recoverable damages as plaintiff fault moves 0–60%

Summary paragraph (paste into your evaluation)

How to use the result

Start with "recoverable damages." That is the total after the plaintiff's share comes off under the state's rule. In a contributory-negligence state (Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and DC for most claims) any plaintiff fault zeroes it; in a modified state it zeroes at 50% or 51%; in a pure state it only shrinks.
Then read each defendant's exposure. Under several-only liability a defendant pays its own percentage of the total and nothing more, so an insolvent or immune co-defendant is the plaintiff's problem. Under joint and several liability any liable defendant can be made to pay the whole recoverable amount (and chase contribution). Hybrid states switch between the two at a threshold (25%, 50%, 51%, 60%) or by damage type (economic vs non-economic).
Check the comparison basis. Most states compare the plaintiff with all defendants combined; Idaho, Minnesota and Wisconsin compare the plaintiff with each defendant separately, so a plaintiff at 40% can recover from a 45% defendant but not from a 15% one. The table marks unreachable defendants.
Use the settlement panel to price the next deal. If your state credits dollars (pro tanto), a cheap early settlement leaves the remaining joint defendants holding more; if it credits fault share, a cheap settlement is the plaintiff's loss. The "plaintiff total ceiling" lines show the most the plaintiff can collect in all under each approach.
Treat every rule as a hypothesis. The citation and confidence flag tell you how the entry was verified. Thresholds, effective dates and carve-outs (products, intentional torts, environmental claims, government defendants, non-party fault) change the answer; confirm the current statute and jury instructions before relying on a figure in a demand, mediation statement or reserve.

Need the liability analysis behind the percentages? MedLegal AI reads the record, builds the chronology and flags the standard-of-care and causation questions, cited to the Bates page. Start free →

How the rules work, in plain language

Pure comparative fault (about ten states, e.g., California, New York for most claims, Washington): the plaintiff's award is reduced by the plaintiff's percentage of fault, however high. Modified comparative fault, 50% bar (e.g., Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Tennessee, Utah): the plaintiff recovers only while less at fault than the other side; at exactly 50% the plaintiff gets nothing. Modified comparative fault, 51% bar (the largest group, e.g., Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, and Florida and Louisiana after their 2023 and 2026 reforms): the plaintiff recovers unless more at fault than the other side, so 50/50 still pays half. Contributory negligence (Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, District of Columbia): any plaintiff fault that contributes to the injury bars recovery, subject to doctrines like last clear chance. Slight/gross (South Dakota): the plaintiff recovers only if the plaintiff's negligence was slight compared with the defendant's.

Joint and several liability lets the plaintiff collect the whole judgment from any liable defendant, who then seeks contribution. Several liability limits each defendant to its own percentage. Most states now use a hybrid: several below a fault threshold and joint above it, or joint for economic damages and several for non-economic damages, with carve-outs for intentional torts, concerted action, products, hazardous substances and (in a few states) medical malpractice.

Sources

Each state links to the chart, statute or decision the rule was read from, with the date it was checked and a confidence flag. "High" means the rule was read from the statute text or a current (2026) published chart; "medium" means from a secondary compilation; "low" means it needs a statute check before use.