Contributory Negligence

In the process of making a claim, the Defendant may try to lessen the amount of damages payable by alleging contributory negligence.

What is Contributory Negligence?

When an injury occurs, who is to blame? In the case of an incident which gives rise to a claim, blame will usually be assigned to the Defendant. So, for example, if you get hit from behind while waiting at a red light in your car, it is pretty clear that the other car is to blame, and a claim will be brought against the other driver.

However, in many cases the situation may be more complicated. Imagine if, to use another example, you were hit by a car while crossing the street. Who was to blame? Well, it depends on many factors- were you crossing the street at a pedestrian crossing? Was the car travelling too fast? Did you cross the street without looking or while talking on your mobile?

Contributory negligence will be found if the accident can be said to be partly your fault. In such cases the damages you eventually receive from a successful claim will be reduced. The reduction from the final damages will be a percentage based on the degree to which the claimant contributed to his own injuries.

Contributory negligence is, in simple terms, a way for the courts to award damages where the Claimant is partially to blame for his injuries.

Road Traffic Accident examples:

 These examples are useful starting points for understanding contributory negligence:

1. Where the driver or passenger of a car fails to wear a seatbelt, damages will be reduced by 25% if the injury would have been avoided if a seatbelt had been worn. Damages will be reduced by only 15% if the injury would still have occurred but would have been less serious. Froom v Butcher [1976]
2. If a motorcyclist fails to wear a helmet and gets injured in a road traffic accident, his damages may be reduced by 15%. O’Connell v Jackson [1972]
3. If a passenger travels in a car where he knows the driver is drunk, the damages from any resulting accident would be reduced by 20%. Owens v Brimmel [1977]
4. If a cyclist fails to wear a helmet and gets injured in a way that could have been prevented or reduced by the wearing of a helmet, his damages may be reduced. This is a developing area of the law, and there are no set guidelines yet as to how much this reduction would be. Smith v Finch [2009]

Employer’s Liability examples:

1. If an employee performs a potentially dangerous activity knowing he has not had enough sleep, the court may decide he was partially to blame and thus find contributory negligence. Even if work pressures led to the tiredness, the employee still has a responsibility not to do certain activities when he knows he is too tired to perform safely. Eyres v Atkinsons Kitchens & Bathrooms [2007]
2. When an employee uses a piece of equipment without following the training he has been given, the court may find he is partially to blame for an injury which resulted from improper use of the equipment. Sherlock v Chester City Council [2004]

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If you want to enquire about making a claim, please contact a member of our team on 01895 207 835 or 01895 207 295. Alternatively, you can send an email with your name and contact information and brief details as to the nature of the accident/clinical negligence and the injuries sustained to PI@ibblaw.co.uk and one of our team will be able to help you.