Contributory Negligence - Tort Law

As a common law defence, contributory negligence refers to the idea that someone may be considered careless in looking after their own safety where they do not act with due care and attention so that a defence is effectively established on this basis because the victim failed to look to effectively take of themselves so that they are said to have contributed to their own injuries, in keeping with the decision in Nance v. British Columbia Elwy [1951] AC 601.

But, clearly, there are limits to this rule of tort that are aptly illustrated by the decision in Tremayne v. Hill [1987] RTR 131 where there was considered to be no duty in place upon a pedestrian to keep a lookout when they are crossing a multiple road junction that was also supported by previous codifications including the Animals Act 1971 and the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.

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