What is contributory negligence?

• Contributory negligence is one of the defences available to a defendant in a negligence case. Contributory negligence occurs if the plaintiff’s negligence contributes to their injury.
• The defendant’s wrongdoing is weighed against the plaintiff’s contribution to their injury and liability is apportioned between them as a percentage.
• In assessing contributory negligence the court will take into account the age and situation of the plaintiff.
• For example a 7 year old girl was injured when she wore roller skates on a trampoline that was accessible by children without adult supervision. The court held that the defendant homeowner was liable for not preventing the children getting onto the trampoline without supervision and that given the young age of the plaintiff there had been no contributory negligence.
• In another case a man riding his bicycle along a pathway at dawn collided with a bollard (cement pillar) that had no reflective tape on it. The court found that the defendant council had breached its duty of care by installing the bollard in the middle of the path but assessed the plaintiff’s contributory negligence at 50% because he had failed to think about potential obstacles in his path.