Defenses and Affirmative Defenses
Liability Defenses
The doctrine requires a plaintiff to take reasonable steps to limit damages. The defendant bears the burden of proving the failure was unreasonable and quantifying the resulting increase.
It reduces damages rather than barring recovery.
Alternative Names:
Mitigation Defense, Avoidable Consequences Doctrine
Why it Matters?
The burden allocation is what makes this defense difficult, since the defendant must prove both that mitigation was unreasonably omitted and how much of the damages that omission caused. Medical noncompliance is the common application, but establishing that following recommendations would have improved the outcome requires expert testimony. Gaps in treatment support the argument without proving it.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Who bears the burden?
What is the common application?
