RESOURCES & RESEARCH (Legal FAQ's)
CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE
Alabama is one of the last few states using contributory negligence. It means that if a plaintiff contributed to an incident at all, then they cannot expect the defendant to pay for it.
Most other states use comparative negligence. If the jury finds the defendant was at fault, they are allowed to lessen the amount they would make the defendant pay by the amount the plaintiff contributed to the accident.