The plaintiff was a front seat passenger injured in a car crash. The defendant sought to have the damages award reduced for the contributory negligence of the plaintiff in not wearing a seat belt.
Held: There was considerable disagreement between people as to the wisdom of wearing seatbelts. In the absence of such agreement us, the plaintiff could not be said to be negligent.
Nield J said: ‘I do not feel that the courts are justified in invading the freedom of choice of the motorist by holding it to be negligence, lack of care or fault, to act upon an opinion firmly and honestly held and shared by many other sensible people.’
Judges:
Nield J
Citations:
[1974] 1 WLR 1297
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Appeal from – Froom v Butcher CA 21-Jul-1975
The court asked what reduction if any should be made to a plaintiff’s damages where injuries were caused not only by the defendant’s negligent driving but also by the failure of the plaintiff to wear a seat belt. It had been submitted that, since . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Negligence
Updated: 01 December 2022; Ref: scu.237430
