Contributory negligence barred plaintiffs from any recovery if they were even slightly at fault.

Evidence

State courts developed other legal doctrines—the “fellow servant” rule, assumption of risk, and contributory negligence—that served to immunize producers from liability. Perhaps the most important of these was the contributory negligence doctrine, under which plaintiffs were barred from redress if their own negligence had contributed, no matter how slightly, to the injury they suffered. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3428

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the contributory negligence doctrine and its all-or-nothing severity.
• XREF: connects to: Comparative negligence reduces damages rather than barring partially at-fault plaintiffs. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3452