Rhode Island applies pure comparative negligence with a 3-year statute of limitations and no statutory non-economic cap.
Rhode Island operates pure comparative negligence with a three-year personal-injury limitation window. There is no statutory cap on non-economic damages.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-14
Pure comparative negligence, recovery available at any fault percentage.
The handful of details that distinguish this jurisdiction from its neighbours.
Reported decisions, the limitation clock, and how fault is apportioned for each injury type under Rhode Island law.
Reported Rhode Island decisions for each injury type, each with a link to the judgment and to the full injury guide.
On April 24, 2013, Maureen Mowry was rear ended while waiting to turn into her employer’s lot.
whiplash in Rhode Island →On November 9, 2009, Jazmine Wray was stopped on Hartford Avenue in Providence waiting to turn left, with Roy stopped behind her.
whiplash in Rhode Island →On September 30, 2003, Donna Rose was slowing to change lanes on Route 95 near the Rhode Island Hospital exit when Christopher Cariello struck her from behind; she said her head went way back.
back & spine in Rhode Island →In May 2011 Joseph Caffey lost consciousness at the wheel in Seekonk and rear ended the car Christopher Lees was riding in.
back & spine in Rhode Island →On February 23, 2006, Kevin Hough was walking home from his job at Walgreens in Warwick when a car passed him three times; the driver, Shawn McKiernan, got out, swung at him and knocked him down.
head & brain in Rhode Island →At a June 2007 graduation party in Coventry, a guest brought his one person ATV and gave rides.
head & brain in Rhode Island →On March 6, 2015, Claire Letizio drove her daughter to a friend’s house in Westerly and warned the homeowner several times that his steps were icy.
fracture in Rhode Island →On July 28, 2010, Kathleen Carlson was watching her son’s Little League game at Tuckertown Field in Wakefield.
fracture in Rhode Island →From October 2003 Jose Bustamante’s neck pain was worked up with an X-ray, MRI, a neurosurgeon and an orthopedist, who blamed degenerative disc disease.
medical negligence in Rhode Island →On March 15, 2006, Sevan Cappuccilli was admitted to Women & Infants in labor with her fifth child.
medical negligence in Rhode Island →On December 15, 2016, Joseph Phillips, a driver for Enterprise, died in a motor vehicle accident on Jefferson Boulevard.
workplace in Rhode Island →On April 11, 2013, Philip Thompson felt pain in his right shoulder and neck while holding and pushing a metal strip at work.
workplace in Rhode Island →Statutes and rulings that come up again and again in Rhode Island injury claims, each with its source.
| Underinsured motorist claims | When the at fault driver’s limits are not enough, you can claim the difference from your own insurer, and a jury decides the value.Mowry v. Allstate (R.I. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Fault rule | Your lack of due care, or the fact that the danger “was open and obvious shall not bar a recovery, but damages shall be diminished” in proportion to your negligence. Rhode Island is a pure comparative state.R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-20-4, quoted in Yanku v. Walgreen (R.I. 2020) |
| Seat belt use | Not wearing a belt is not comparative negligence and is not admissible in any civil action.R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-22-22; see our seat belt table |
| New trial or additur | A trial judge may grant a new trial on damages, or an additur, when the verdict does not respond to the evidence, as in Rose.Rose v. Cariello (R.I. 2014) |
| Arbitration awards | Courts give an agreed arbitrator’s award strong deference; the judgment vacating Lees’s award was itself vacated.Caffey v. Lees (R.I. 2018) |
| Deadline to sue | “Actions for injuries to the person shall be commenced and sued within three (3) years next after the cause of action shall accrue.”R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-14(b), quoted in Garant v. Winchester (R.I. 2016) |
| Remittitur | A trial judge may reduce an excessive award; Hough’s damages were set at $925,000 and the Supreme Court affirmed.Hough v. McKiernan (R.I. 2014) |
| Social hosts | Party hosts had no duty to stop an adult guest from giving rides on his own ATV off their property.Phelps v. Hebert (R.I. 2014) |
How Rhode Island compares with its neighbours in the Northeast on fault rule and limitation period.
| Jurisdiction | Fault rule | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | Pure comparative negligence | 3 years from date of injury |
| Connecticut (CT) | Modified comparative, 51% bar | 2 years from date of injury |
| Delaware (DE) | Modified comparative, 51% bar | 2 years from date of injury |
| District of Columbia (DC) | Pure contributory negligence | 3 years from date of injury |
| Maine (ME) | Modified comparative, 50% bar | 6 years for personal injury, longest in the US |
| Maryland (MD) | Pure contributory negligence | 3 years from date of injury |
| Massachusetts (MA) | Modified comparative, 51% bar | 3 years from date of injury |
| New Hampshire (NH) | Modified comparative, 51% bar | 3 years from date of injury |
| New Jersey (NJ) | Modified comparative, 51% bar | 2 years from date of injury |
| New York (NY) | Pure comparative negligence | 3 years for personal injury; 2 years 6 months for medical malpractice |
| Pennsylvania (PA) | Modified comparative, 51% bar | 2 years from date of injury |
| Vermont (VT) | Modified comparative, 51% bar | 3 years from date of injury |
Common questions about personal injury claims in Rhode Island, answered with the relevant statutory references.
This page summarises the Rhode Island statutory framework as of 2026-05-09. It is not legal advice. Statutes change, published verdicts move, and the position within any band depends on facts the page can't see. For representation, consult an attorney qualified in Rhode Island. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.
