Contributory Negligence

Everyone is expected to take reasonable care of their own safety or interests. contributory negligence is when the claimant party is partly to blame for the damage that they have sustained. Therefore they have contributed in some way to the harm that they have suffered. In order for contributory negligence to apply, it must be shown that the defendant was negligent.

First we must establish that the defendant was negligent before the level of fault on the claimant's part can be assessed.  It must always be proved that the claimant's actions contributed to the harm that they suffered. In the case of Woods v Davidson there was no contibutory negligence, however in Jones v Linox Quarries there was contributory negligence.

If contributory negligence is found, the effect is a reduction in the amount that the claimant recieves. The full amount of damages that would have been awarded is calculated first. Then a decision is made upon how much, in terms of a percentage, then claimant was to blame for the damage. Finally the percentage amount decided on is…