Causative potency in contributory negligence

Sabir v Osei-Kwabena Personal Injury Compensation Volume 31 Number 10 [2015] EWCA Civ 1213, 25 November 2015

The Court of Appeal had the opportunity to consider the apportionment of liability between a motorist and a pedestrian, in the context of a traffic accident in which the claimant was struck by the motorist’s car. The motorist was approaching at a normal speed when she had walked into the carriageway from behind her parked car, but she had misjudged the position of the car and thought she had sufficient time to cross the road. The trial judge had concluded that the failure of the motorist to keep a proper look-out and pay appropriate attention was the primary cause of the collision, and that the pedestrian’s contributory negligence was 25%.