How do Ontario courts split fault between me and the other party under contributory negligence?

Contributory negligence means you did something that fell below the standard of a reasonably careful person and that contributed to your own injury - entering an intersection carelessly, not wearing a seatbelt, or ignoring an obvious warning. It does not automatically bar your claim in Ontario. Instead, courts apportion fault between everyone involved as a percentage, based on how much each person's conduct departed from what a reasonable person would have done and how much that departure contributed to the harm. Your damages award is then reduced by your own percentage of fault - for example, a court might find you 20% responsible and the other party 80% responsible, reducing your compensation by 20%.

Apportionment is a fact-specific comparison rather than a fixed formula, so outcomes vary between cases with similar facts. Courts look at the relative blameworthiness of each party's conduct, not just who acted first or who caused more of the physical damage. Because the outcome often turns on details - what warnings existed, what a reasonable person in your position would have noticed, whether a safer alternative was realistically available - evidence gathered close to the incident, including photos and witness accounts, can have a significant effect on how fault ends up being divided.