S 3190Civil Procedure

Courts and Civil Procedure - Procedure Generally - Decisions, Special Findings and Assessment of Damages

This bill allows injured people to seek compensation even if they assumed a risk or a danger was obvious.

Held for study

Population
Affected

Introduced Apr 3, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This bill changes the rules for personal injury, wrongful death, and property damage lawsuits. Under the new rules, if a person assumes the risk of an injury or if a danger was "open and obvious," it will no longer completely prevent them from receiving compensation. Instead, the amount of money they can recover will be reduced based on their share of the blame for the incident. This applies the concept of comparative negligence to situations involving assumed risks and obvious dangers.

For younger readers

If you get hurt because of a danger that was easy to see, or if you knew something was risky but did it anyway, the rules for getting money for your injuries are changing. Right now, if you get hurt in those situations, you might not get any money from the person who caused the danger. This bill changes the rule so you can still get some money to help you, but the amount you get will be smaller because you shared some of the blame for getting hurt.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Personal injury plaintiffsProperty ownersBusiness ownersInsurance companiesCivil litigation attorneys

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

None

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Enhances access to justice for injured individuals by preventing "open and obvious" dangers from being used as an absolute shield by negligent property owners or corporations to avoid paying damages.
Promotes fairness in the legal system by ensuring compensation is proportional to fault, rather than completely denying recovery to plaintiffs who made a mistake in assessing a risk.
Encourages property owners and businesses to fix known hazards rather than leaving them exposed, as they can no longer completely escape liability simply by arguing the danger was obvious to the public.
Could potentially increase liability insurance costs for small, community-based businesses or non-profits that operate on narrow margins and cannot afford expensive property renovations.
May lead to increased litigation in the court system, potentially causing longer delays for marginalized individuals seeking timely resolution and financial relief for their injuries.
Does not provide a guaranteed minimum recovery for severely injured individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, as their compensation can still be heavily reduced by the comparative negligence calculation.

For Conservatives

Ensures that juries and fact-finders retain the authority to assign personal responsibility to plaintiffs by reducing their financial awards based on their own negligence or assumption of risk.
Standardizes the application of comparative negligence across all personal injury and property damage cases, creating a more uniform legal framework for resolving civil disputes.
May encourage individuals to be more cautious, knowing that their assumption of risk or failure to avoid obvious dangers will directly and proportionally reduce any financial compensation they might receive.
Removes a strong legal defense for property owners and businesses, potentially exposing them to more lawsuits from individuals who willfully ignored obvious dangers.
Could significantly increase the cost of doing business, as higher liability risks may lead to increased insurance premiums and operational costs for corporations.
Undermines the principle of strict personal responsibility by allowing individuals who knowingly engage in risky behavior or ignore obvious hazards to still profit from a lawsuit.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 3 additions

SECTION 1. Section 9-20-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 9-20 entitled "Decisions, Special Findings and Assessment of Damages" is hereby amended to read as follows: 9-20-4. Comparative negligence. In all actions hereafter brought for personal injuries, or where personal injuries have resulted in death, or for injury to property, the fact that the person injured, or the owner of the property or person having control over the property, may not have been in the exercise of due care, the fact that the person injured may have assumed the risk of injury and/or death, or the fact that the danger or defect was open and obvious shall not bar a recovery, but damages shall be diminished by the finder of fact in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person injured, or the owner of the property or the person having control over the property.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.