Goetzman v. Wichern

McCORMICK, Justice.

The question here is whether the common law of Iowa should be changed to substitute the doctrine of comparative negligence for the existing doctrine of contributory negligence. In the present case the trial court *744submitted a contributory negligence defense over an objection by plaintiff in which she advocated the change. We now abandon the doctrine that contributory negligence is a complete bar to recovery. In its place we adopt the doctrine of comparative negligence under which an injured party’s recovery is diminished in proportion to that party’s contributory negligence,…