The claimant sought damages after being injured in a car driven by the defendant. The defendant now appealed an award at 1005, saying that the plaintiff had known that he had been drinking. The defendant was known to be a heavy drinker, and he said that the plaintiff should have asked him first how much he had drunk.
Held: The appeal failed. ‘The law requires the passenger to make an assessment of the driver when deciding whether, in the interest of his own safety, he should have a lift. ‘ but ‘the law would take a wrong turning if we were to require an interrogation in this type of case, of the type . . suggested.’
Citations:
[2003] EWCA Civ 1708
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – 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 . .
Cited – Brignall v Kelly CA 17-May-1994
There had been an accident in which the driver had lost control of his car. A blood sample taken two-and-a-half hours later showed that his blood alcohol limit was slightly more than twice the permitted maximum for driving. A professor of forensic . .
Cited – Owens v Brimmell 1977
Both the driver and his passenger had drunk about eight to nine pints of beer, and on their way home the driver lost control of his car so that it collided with a lamppost. The passenger sued in negligence. The driver said the passenger was . .
Cited – Malone v Rowan 1984
The burden of proving contributory negligence rests on the defendant. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Personal Injury, Negligence
Updated: 08 June 2022; Ref: scu.188300