CONTRIBUTORY-NEGLIGENCE DOCTRINE

contributory-negligence doctrine. Torts. The principle that completely bars a plaintiff’s recovery if the damage suffered is partly the plaintiff’s own fault. • Most states have abolished this doctrine and have adopted instead a comparative-negligence scheme. See NEGLIGENCE. Cf. COMPARATIVE-NEGLIGENCE DOCTRINE . [Cases: Negligence 547. C.J.S. Negligence §§ 293, 297.]