Definition: when the careless of plaintiff contributes in part or full to his or her own damage is called the contributory negligence.

Contributory negligence can occur:

–          If plaintiff ignored obvious risk of safety

–          Acted careless way which contributed to the incident

–          Failed to act in a reasonable way

Example can be hit by a driver where the injured were not wearing sit belt. In such cases court might find the defendant guilty, but reduce the damage payable as claimant also contributed in the incident.

In maritime tort Contributory negligence can be used as a defense to bar to reduce recovery.

Subject: LPS, Chapter: Tort