Apportionment of liability

Whitehead v Bruce and others [2013] EWCA Civ 229

Counsel: For the first defendant: Michael Pooles QCFor the second defendant: Stephen Grime QCFor the third defendant: Alan Jeffreys QC, Andrew PeeblesSolicitors: For the first defendant: DAC Beachcroft LLPFor the second defendant: Ford & WarrenFor the third defendant: Greenwoods

Difficult road conditions and unexpected mechanical failure can cause complex traffic situations in which it may be difficult to apportion liability. The Court of Appeal has held that a judge had incorrectly apportioned liability between three defendants, who were all liable for a road traffic accident. The third defendant had parked in a place where overtaking was forbidden; the second defendant had collided with the first defendant, a motorcyclist, in the course of overtaking the third defendant’s car.