EFFECT OF BLAMEWORTHINESS AND OUTCOME SEVERITY ON ATTRIBUTIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DAMAGE AWARDS IN COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE CASES

We studied the effects of accident victims' legal blameworthiness and the severity of their injuries on determinations of responsibility and damage awards. In general, participants tended to ascribe more fault to victims than warranted by the facts presented, displaying an antipl aintiff bias. When attributing fault and awarding damages they were es pecially sensitive to the blameworthiness of the victim when the conse quences of the accident were severe rather than mild. These findings a ppeared not to be mediated by emotional reactions to the victims. Part icipants tended to conflate issues of liability with what ought to hav e been the legally distinct question of damages. They appeared to deci de comparative negligence awards not by determining percentage fault a nd gross damages as discrete items and then completing their product, as the law prescribes, but rather by using more holistic judgmental pr ocesses.