Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The doctrine of contributory negligence was dominant in U.S. jurisprudence in the 19th and 20th century. [3] The English case Butterfield v.Forrester is generally recognized as the first appearance, although in this case, the judge held the plaintiff's own negligence undermined their argument that the defendant was the proximate cause of the injury. [3]
Contributory negligence is a mitigatory defence, whereby a claimant's damages are reduced in accordance with the percentage of contribution made by the claimant to the loss or damage suffered. Thus, in evaluating a collision between two vehicles, for example, if the wronged driver were not wearing a seatbelt, he would most likely be ...
Contributory negligence used to be a complete defence, but the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945 allows the court to apportion liability for damages between the claimant and the defendant where the claimant's negligence has materially added to the loss or damage sustained. Section 1 provides:
Contributory negligence – A defense based on negligence of the plaintiff wherein the plaintiff's actions caused the event which drew the suit. An example of this is a pedestrian crossing a road carelessly and was hit by a driver driving carelessly.
Butterfield v. Forrester, 11 East. 60, 103 Eng. Rep. 926 (K.B. 1809), was an English case before the King's Bench that was the first appearance of contributory negligence as a common law defence against negligence. [1]
Currently, only Alabama, Maryland, and the District of Columbia will not allow a plaintiff to recover if it is proven to be in any way at fault. This rule is called contributory negligence, a doctrine perceived to be overly "harsh", which "has caused all but a few States to substitute the doctrine of comparative negligence". [1]
Comparative negligence, called non-absolute contributory negligence outside the United States, is a partial legal defense that reduces the amount of damages that a plaintiff can recover in a negligence-based claim, based upon the degree to which the plaintiff's own negligence contributed to cause the injury.
In the trial court, the defendant requested that instructions be given to the jury about contributory negligence and a standard resembling the reasonable person standard, but the judge declined to give the instructions. The jury rendered a verdict for the plaintiff, and the defendant appealed.