Legal concept
Contributory negligence with reference to a motor accident means that the (fatally) injured person through his or her own negligent (in)action has contributed to the (fatal) injury, or failed to prevent or reduce the extent of the injury suffered.
A pedestrian standing on the road instead of the side-walk/pavement, injured driver not following motor vehicle rules, tailgating or driving too closely behind another vehicle are some examples of contributory negligence in the finding of law courts.
Effect on claim compensation
When seeking compensation for injury, as a driver of a motor vehicle involved in an accident due to wrongful actions (eg. offence of rash and negligent driving) of another (offending) driver(s)) or as the offending driver subject to such legal action taken by an injured person(s), the existence of contributory negligence on the part of the injured driver or person would reduce the quantum of compensation/damages payable, depending on the extent of such negligence, as determined by the concerned law court trying the offence or Motor Accident Claims Tribunals (MACT), as the case may be.
Proving or disproving contributory negligence
In the case of an injured driver or person, establishing the non-existence of any contributory negligence would ensure that the compensation receivable from the offending driver or insurance company (“insurer”) is not reduced. Establishing to the contrary, from the perspective of the offending driver, will reduce the compensation payable to the injured person or recoverable from the driver by his or her insurer after meeting such liability, where the driver is found to be in violation of the terms and conditions of the insurance policy. Given that such compensation sums may be significantly large in quantum, contributory negligence, if established, could be proportionately large as well.
In either circumstance, contributory negligence generally may stand proven or disproven through the contents of key documents such as the accident report prepared by the concerned law enforcement authority, FIR (First Information Report) or criminal complaint registered, witness statements recorded, chargesheet filed etc. and their legal effect (if any) in the adjudication of the claim by the MACT and/or trial of the offence by the law court, as the case may be.
For all the above reasons, accurate legal analysis of such documents is a crucial preliminary step for the purpose of determining the existence and/or extent of contributory negligence.
Legal information by Legalrisk – law, risk and AI
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