Sep 10, 2026
“I think it was partly my fault, so I probably don’t have a case.” We hear that sentence often, and it is usually wrong. Comparative fault in a car accident in ND is a formula for dividing responsibility, not a test you pass or fail.
Understanding how that formula works changes how you handle a claim, what you say to an adjuster, and whether you accept the fault percentage the other side proposes. Below, we explain the rule, the one threshold that genuinely ends a claim, and how these percentages get decided in practice.
Key Takeaways about Partial Fault in a Bismarck Car Crash
- North Dakota follows modified comparative fault under section 32-03.2-02 of the Century Code, with a bar at the point where a claimant’s fault equals the combined fault of all others.
- Damages are reduced in proportion to the claimant’s share of responsibility rather than denied outright.
- Liability among multiple at-fault parties is several rather than joint, so each pays only its own percentage.
- Fault under North Dakota law reaches beyond careless driving to include assumption of risk and failure to take reasonable steps to limit one’s own losses.
- Fault percentages are determined by a jury when a case is tried, and by negotiation in the great majority of claims that settle.
How Does Comparative Fault Affect a Car Accident Settlement in ND?
Comparative fault in a car accident in ND reduces what you recover by your own percentage of responsibility, and bars recovery only if your share is as great as everyone else’s combined. Being partly at fault does not end a claim in North Dakota.
- A claim worth $100,000 with you 30% at fault pays $70,000.
- At 50% or more, recovery against the other driver is barred entirely.
- Each at-fault party generally pays only its own percentage, not the whole amount.
Those percentages are argued, not fixed, which is why an insurer’s early assessment of your fault is rarely the final one.
What Is North Dakota’s Comparative Negligence Rule?
North Dakota uses modified comparative fault with a 50% bar. Your own contributory fault reduces your damages proportionally, and it prevents recovery only when your fault is as great as the combined fault of everyone else who contributed to the injury.
The rule appears in North Dakota Century Code section 32-03.2-02. Contributory fault does not bar recovery unless it was as great as the combined fault of all other contributing parties, and any damages awarded must be reduced in proportion to the claimant’s share.
Read the statute’s language carefully, because the comparison is against everyone else combined. In a crash involving two other drivers who are 30% and 25% responsible, a claimant at 45% still recovers, reduced by 45%. The same 45% claimant facing a single defendant at 55% also recovers. The bar arrives when your number reaches theirs.
How the math works in a shared responsibility automobile crash
The arithmetic is simple once the percentages are set. If a jury values the case at $200,000 and assigns you 15% of the fault, the judgment is $170,000.
Three worked examples:
- $80,000 in damages, 10% your fault: you recover $72,000.
- $80,000 in damages, 40% your fault: you recover $48,000.
- $80,000 in damages, 50% your fault: you recover nothing from the other driver.
The cliff between 49% and 50% is the reason fault disputes in North Dakota are fought so hard over what look like small margins.
What Counts as “Fault” Under North Dakota Law?
Fault in North Dakota is broader than bad driving. Section 32-03.2-01 defines it to include negligent and reckless acts or omissions, assumption of risk, misuse of a product, and the failure to use reasonable care to avoid an injury or to limit the damages that follow.
That last piece catches people off guard. Conduct after the crash can be treated as fault, which means declining recommended treatment or abandoning physical therapy may be raised to reduce a recovery.
Behaviors an insurer may argue as claimant fault include:
- Speeding, following too closely, or distracted driving.
- Failing to adjust speed for ice, snow, or reduced visibility.
- Driving with a known mechanical problem, such as worn tires or bad brakes.
- Riding with a driver who was visibly impaired.
- Declining or discontinuing recommended medical care.
An argument is not a finding, and causation must be proven for your conduct just as it must for theirs. An insurer that raises your speed still has to show that speed contributed to the collision.
A note on seat belts
Failing to wear a seat belt is treated differently in North Dakota than many people assume. It is not itself evidence of negligence, though North Dakota courts have allowed it to be considered as a factor in reducing damages. It is a narrower issue than a general fault argument.
Why Several Liability Matters More Than the Percentage
North Dakota abolished joint and several liability for most claims, and the consequence is significant. Each at-fault party is liable only for the damages attributable to its own percentage of fault.
Consider a three-vehicle pileup near the Grant Marsh Bridge. A jury assigns 60% to a driver with no insurance and 40% to an insured driver. You collect 40% of your damages from the insured defendant, and you cannot require that solvent party to cover the uninsured driver’s 60%.
This is the strongest practical argument for carrying uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which North Dakota requires on every auto policy. Where no insurer is available to pay no-fault benefits at all, the North Dakota Automobile Assigned Claims Plan exists to fill that gap. It is also why identifying every responsible party early can matter more than shaving a few points off your own percentage.
A narrow exception survives for parties who act in concert or who encourage, ratify, or adopt a wrongful act. Outside that exception, the percentages control who pays what.
How No-Fault Coverage Fits Alongside Comparative Fault
Comparative fault does not touch your no-fault benefits. North Dakota’s no-fault system pays certain economic losses regardless of who caused the crash, so a dispute over percentages does not delay that coverage.
Every North Dakota policy includes basic no-fault coverage, also called personal injury protection, of at least $30,000 per person for medical expenses and work loss. The North Dakota Insurance Department sets out the required coverages, and we explain how these benefits operate in more detail elsewhere.
Comparative fault becomes relevant when you pursue the at-fault driver for losses beyond no-fault coverage. To reach noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering, an injury must qualify as a serious injury under the Auto Accident Reparations Act, meaning death, dismemberment, serious and permanent disfigurement, disability beyond 60 days, or medical expenses above $2,500.
So two separate questions govern a partial-fault claim: whether you clear the serious injury threshold, and what percentage of fault attaches to you. They are decided independently.
Who Actually Decides the Percentages?
A jury decides fault percentages when a case is tried, and section 32-03.2-02 lets any party require the jury to return separate special verdicts on damages and on the percentage of fault attributable to each person who contributed, whether or not that person is a party to the case.
In practice, most claims settle, and the percentages are negotiated rather than decided. That negotiation is anchored by what each side believes a jury would do with the evidence, which is why building the evidentiary record shapes the percentage more than argument does.
The insurer’s opening position is exactly that. An adjuster who tells you that you were half at fault has made a claim, not a determination, and that number frequently moves once the crash has been investigated properly.
Evidence That Moves a Fault Percentage in Your Favor
Objective evidence moves fault percentages far more effectively than a persuasive account of events. Two drivers with conflicting stories produce a stalemate that tends to resolve near the middle, which is rarely where an injured person wants to land.
Evidence that shifts percentages includes:
- Vehicle event data recorder downloads showing speed, braking, and throttle position.
- Dashcam or nearby surveillance footage.
- Scene photographs capturing vehicle positions, debris fields, and sight lines.
- Independent witnesses with no connection to either driver.
- Cell phone records where distraction is at issue.
- Accident reconstruction analysis in serious cases.
- Roadway maintenance and traffic signal records.
Nearly all of these have a shelf life, and footage in particular is often overwritten within days. Preserving them early is what makes a percentage argument winnable later.
How We Approach Shared Fault Cases in Bismarck
When a client tells us they may be partly responsible, our first step is to test that assumption rather than accept it. People routinely overestimate their own fault, often because they are honest, and because an adjuster has been encouraging the idea.
Vogel Law Firm has practiced here since 1880, and our attorneys try cases in Burleigh County District Court and the South Central Judicial District regularly. That matters in fault disputes, because jurors here bring real familiarity with the conditions at issue, whether that is black ice on I-94, a whiteout on Highway 83, or a combine turning off a rural section road at harvest.
With more than 40 attorneys across our Fargo, Bismarck, and Moorhead offices, we have the resources to investigate a disputed crash claim properly, including reconstruction where a case warrants it. Our personal injury and wrongful death cases are handled on a contingency fee basis.
FAQs about Comparative Fault in a Car Accident in ND
These are questions we hear regularly from people who believe they share some blame for a crash.
Does Minnesota use the same rule if my crash happened in Moorhead?
Minnesota also applies a modified comparative fault system, though the two states differ in the details, and Minnesota’s no-fault framework is not identical to North Dakota’s. Crashes in the Fargo-Moorhead metro can raise genuine questions about which state’s law governs. Because our offices sit on both sides of the border, our attorneys work in both systems routinely.
If the police report blames me, is the percentage settled?
No. A crash report is evidence that a jury may consider, not a legal finding of fault. Investigating officers reach conclusions from limited scene information, and those conclusions are regularly revised once vehicle data, video, or independent witnesses come to light.
How does comparative fault work in a wrongful death claim?
The same proportional reduction applies, measured against the fault of the person who died. Families are often surprised that an insurer raises the decedent’s conduct at all, and we approach these cases understanding that the point is securing the resources a family needs going forward, not assigning blame within a loss they are still living with.
Can my recovery be reduced for not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle?
Insurers sometimes raise helmet use to argue a rider contributed to the severity of injuries. Whether that argument gains traction depends on the injuries involved and how the issue is framed under North Dakota law. It is a fact-specific question worth discussing before conceding anything.
Do I have to accept the insurer’s fault percentage to settle?
Not at all. A proposed percentage is a negotiating position, and disputing it is ordinary practice rather than an escalation. If the parties cannot agree, the question goes to a jury.
How long do I have to bring a claim if fault is disputed?
Under North Dakota Century Code section 28-01-16, most personal injury actions must be brought within six years of the injury, while wrongful death claims run on a two-year deadline. A fault dispute does not extend either deadline. Evidence also degrades long before those windows close, so the practical timeline is shorter than the legal one.
What if I was a passenger rather than a driver?
Passengers rarely carry meaningful fault, which often makes their claims more straightforward. A passenger may also be able to pursue more than one at-fault driver, with each responsible for its own percentage. Riding with a visibly impaired driver is the main circumstance where a passenger’s own conduct gets raised.
Talk With Us About Your Crash
Partial fault is not the barrier most people assume it is. Under North Dakota law, it reduces a recovery in proportion to your share, and the size of that share is far more negotiable than any adjuster will suggest in the first phone call.
If you were injured in a Bismarck crash and you are unsure whether your own conduct has cost you a claim, let our personal injury lawyers at Vogel Law Firm take a look before you decide. Call our Bismarck office at 701-258-7899, or contact us here, and we will give you a straight answer about where you stand.