§ 25-21,185.09.Civil actions to which contributory negligence is a defense; effect on recovery.

Section 25-21,185.09 is the operative rule at the center of Nebraska’s modern comparative negligence scheme. Any contributory negligence chargeable to the claimant reduces, proportionately, the damages awarded for an injury attributable to that negligence. A claimant who bears some fault does not lose the entire claim on that basis alone; the award shrinks to reflect the claimant’s share of the total fault.

The proportional reduction has a hard limit. If the claimant’s contributory negligence is equal to or greater than the total negligence of all the persons against whom recovery is sought, the claimant is totally barred from recovery. Put another way, a claimant can recover only when the claimant’s own share of fault is less than the combined fault attributed to the defendant or defendants; once the claimant’s share reaches even parity with that combined total, the claim fails outright rather than being reduced further.

Because the comparison runs against the combined negligence of all defendants, not against each defendant individually, a claimant facing several defendants is measured against their total fault together. The section closes by requiring the jury to be instructed on the effects of this allocation, so jurors understand how their percentage findings translate into either a reduced award or a complete bar before they render a verdict.