CHAPTER
75
CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE |
ARRANGEMENT OF
SECTIONS |
SECTION |
|
|
Apportionment of liability in case of
contributory negligence. |
Action brought under the Fatal Accidents Act. |
Saving for Carriage by Air (Colonies,
Protectorates & Trust Territories, Order, 1953. |
Saving for Maritime Conventions Act, 1911. |
|
CHAPTER 75 |
CONTRIBUTORY
NEGLIGENCE |
An Act to
amend the law relating to contributory negligence and for purposes connected
therewith. | 21 of 1961
27 of 1963
5 of 1987 |
[Commencement 31st
July, 1961] |
1. This Act may be cited as the Contributory Negligence
Act. | Short title. |
2. The following expressions, unless the context
otherwise requires, have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them,
that is to say- | Interpretation. |
"court"
means, in relation to any claim, the court or arbitrator by or before whom the
claim falls to be determined; |
"damage"
includes loss of life and personal injury; |
"dependant"
means any person for whose benefit an action could be brought under the Fatal
Accidents Act; |
"fault"
means negligence, breach of statutory duty or other act or omission which gives
rise to a liability in tort or would give rise to the defence of contributory
negligence. |
3. (1) Where any person suffers damage as the result
partly of his own fault and partly of the fault of any other person or persons,
a claim in respect of that damage shall not be defeated by reason of the fault
of the person suffering the damage, but the damages recoverable in respect
thereof shall be reduced by such extent as the court thinks just and equitable
having regard to the claimant's share in the responsibility for the damage: | Apportionment of liability in case of contributory
negligence. |
Provided that- |
(a) nothing
herein contained shall affect the extent of any contractual liability; and |
(b) where any
contract or enactment providing for limitation of liability is applicable to a
claim, the amount of damages recoverable by the claimant shall not exceed the
limit so applicable. |
(2) Where damages
are recoverable by any claimant by virtue of the provisions of subsection (1)
of this section the court shall find and record the total damages which would
have been recoverable if the claimant had not been at fault. |
(3) Where any case
to which subsection (1) of this section applies is tried with a jury, the jury
shall determine the total damages which would have been recoverable if the
claimant had not been at fault and the extent to which those damages are to be
reduced. |
(4) Where, in any
case to which subsection (1) of this section applies, one of the persons at
fault avoids liability to any other such person or his personal representative
by pleading the
Limitation Act, or any other enactment limiting the time within which
proceedings may be taken, he shall not be entitled to recover any damages or
contributions from that other person or representative by virtue of the said
subsection. |
4. Where any person dies as a result partly of his own
fault and partly of the fault of any other person or persons, any damages
recoverable in an action brought for the benefit of the dependants of that
person under the Fatal Accidents Act shall be reduced as aforesaid. | Action brought under the Fatal Accidents Act. |
5. Article 21 of the Convention contained in the First
Schedule to the Carriage by Air (Colonies, Protectorates and Trust Territories)
Order, 1953 (which empowers a court to exonerate wholly or partly a carrier who
proves that the damage was caused by or contributed to by the negligence of the
injured person), shall have effect subject to the provisions of section 3 of
this Act. | Saving for Carriage by Air (Colonies, Protectorates
& Trust Territories) Order, 1953. |
6. This Act shall not apply to any claim to which
section 1 of The Maritime Conventions Act, 1911, of the United Kingdom
Parliament applies. | Saving for Maritime Conventions Act, 1911. |
7. This Act shall not apply to any case where the acts
or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred before the passing of this Act. | Saving. |