The plaintiff child was injured in a road traffic accident. She appealed from a finding that she had been contributorily negligent.
Held: The appeal succeeded.
Lord Denning MR said: ‘A very young child cannot be guilty of contributory negligence. An older child may be. But it depends on the circumstances. A judge should only find a child guilty of contributory negligence if he or she is of such an age as to be expected to take precautions for his or her own safety: and then he or she is only to be found guilty if blame should be attached to him or her. A child has not the road sense or the experience of his or her elders. He or she is not to be found guilty unless he or she is blameworthy.’
Judges:
Lord Denning MR, Danckwerts, Salmon LJJ
Citations:
[1966] EWCA Civ 5, [1966] 1 WLR 1387, [1966] 3 All ER 398
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Negligence, Children
Updated: 12 July 2022; Ref: scu.262790
