When a company or person is negligent, that party is required to compensate the injured person for the damages caused by the negligence. However, that liability may be reduced or eliminated if the harmed individual was also negligent. If the injured person is partly at fault for causing the accident, then the amount of damages he or she can collect is reduced in proportion to the comparative degree of fault.
In some cases, there may be more than one party responsible for causing the same injuries. In a car accident, both drivers may be negligent, and the injured passenger could have a claim against both. Also, parties may be vicariously liable for the actions of another. For example, employers are responsible for the negligence of their employees who are acting in the course of their employment; and the company that operates a retail store is responsible for the negligence of its employee who failed to clean up a slippery condition on the floor.