What is Contributory Negligence?

When personal injury lawyers consider whether someone is legally liable for an accident it is not always as simple as considering if they are “guilty” or “not guilty.” These terms are more appropriate in criminal proceedings. Personal Injury claims are governed by the civil courts (Civil Procedure Rules) which are not so black and white.

In Personal Injury claims someone can be “wholly liable” for an accident, which means that they were completely responsible for what happened; or they can be “partially liable”, which means that they only contributed to what happened and the injury was not completely their fault. In cases of partial liability the person who suffered the injury has to share some of the responsibility. This is known as “Contributory Negligence” as they have contributed to the negligence which left them injured.

An example of contributory negligence in a personal injury claim would be a pedestrian who fails to look before crossing a road and is hit by a speeding car. The driver of the car is primarily responsible for the accident because if they hadn’t been driving so fast they could have avoided the collision. However, the pedestrian must also accept some responsibility for not checking it was safe before crossing. By failing to do so they contributed to the accident happening.

Another example of Contributory Negligence in a personal injury claim would be a builder on a building site who forgets to wear his hard hat and is hit on the head by a brick dropped by someone from scaffolding above. Whoever dropped the brick is responsible for the poor builder’s injuries but the buider himself will also share some responsibility for the accident if by failing to wear his hard hat his injuries are more serious than they would otherwise have been.

The effect Contributory Negligence has on an accident claim is that the amount of compensation received by whoever was injured is reduced. The amount the claim is reduced by depends upon how much (in percentage terms) it is felt they contributed to their injuries. So, a person who is involved in a road traffic accident might have a claim worth £10,000 on a full liability basis but if they weren’t wearing a seat belt and their injuries were made worse as a result, that total is likely to be reduced by up to 25%. So rather than getting £10,000 someone with a finding of 25% contributory negligence against them would actually receive £7,500; a 25% deduction.

In theory someone could be 99% responsible for what happened and still receive some compensation for injuries they have suffered. Assessing Contributory Negligence is something that requires expert legal knowledge so advice from a solicitor specialising in personal injury claims is recommended if ever allegations of Contributory Negligence are raised.

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