Have you been injured in an accident and the defendant’s insurer has accused you of contributory negligence? As if your accident and injuries weren’t painful and difficult enough to come to terms with, someone accusing you of being partly liable for your accident and injuries can understandably be devastating.
What is classed as contributory negligence?
This is quite common in road traffic accidents, and can be things like; not wearing a seatbelt, helmet or protective leathers. In other situations such as work accidents or public or occupiers liability, this can include things like; not following instructions, signs or training given. So, for example, if you use any machinery labelled out of order, or drive down a road that is signposted as closed then unfortunately, you may be liable for contributory negligence.
What if there were warning signs or instructions present, can I still claim?
When it comes to contributory negligence, the question is not if you can claim, it’s more to the point of how much would be deducted from your compensation.
At The Injury Lawyers, a common accident which we regularly come across is people who have slipped on a wet floor, even when wet floor signs are present. With regards to public places, the Occupiers’ Liability Act states that an occupier of a premises must take all ‘reasonable steps‘ possible to ensure that guests and visitors, or generally anyone using the premises are not injured in any way at all. So, if you had an accident even when warning signs, instructions, or training was given to you prior to your accident, then it is highly likely that the other side are going to try very hard to defend your claim.
What are my rights when it comes to contributory negligence?
If the other side defend your claim based on the fact that there was warning signs or instructions given then there are a few things that need to be considered. Factors such as when the signs or instructions were deployed, and how close this was to the hazard, need to be taken into account. Also the appearance of signs and instructions needs to be considered too. The colour, font, and wording should ensure that it is eye catching, easy to understand, and causes no ambiguity.
If the signs were not displayed clearly or closely enough to the hazard zone or area, then quite likely, this can often be the cause of an accident. Unfortunately, it is also common that warning, hazard and instruction signs have been displayed after a person’s accident so that employers and insurers can try to defend themselves against a claim, by arguing that there were warning signs displayed, when in actual fact they were not displayed prior to an accident.
This is why it is absolutely crucial that if you are going to make a claim for an accident, enquiring with firms, choosing one and instructing them to take your claim ahead needs to be done as soon as possible from the date of your accident. This is because it is much easier to gather the evidence needed if the accident was very recent. If the accident was some time ago, then obviously evidence such as CCTV and photographs may have been lost or destroyed over time. For example, although there is CCTV in most places nowadays, companies often delete their footage after a few weeks to accommodate storage restrictions on their systems, so understandably the sooner you make a claim, the better.
What if there was something I didn’t do or wear which I should have done, that has caused my accident or further injuries?
A common example of this is if someone wasn’t wearing their seatbelt, bicycle helmet or protective clothing or footwear at the time of their accident. The problem with this is, understandably, this is likely to have made your injuries worse as these things are used to protect against such accidents. Despite this, if your accident would have happened whether or not you were wearing safety gear, then the other side should still be liable for the accident. If, however, you were knowingly travelling too fast, using machinery incorrectly, or not following instructions given, then unfortunately the other party can argue that you were partly to blame for your accident.
On the other hand, if it is contributory negligence which caused your accident, this does not mean you can’t claim, but instead means that if you were to win your case, then certain deductions would be negotiated and deducted from your compensation.
What sort of deductions is made for contributory negligence?
Obviously, this very much varies depending on what it was that was classed as contributory negligence. For example, in most road traffic accidents, if you were to be partly liable for your injuries by not wearing a seatbelt, then it is likely that you will incur up to a 20% deduction from your compensation. This is the general amount deducted in this instance, but obviously varies between different factors of contributory negligence, and can also be negotiated between both parties.
