Contributory negligence in motorbike accident compensation claims

Your claim for compensation can be affected if you are found to have been partially responsible for the accident or injuries. Claimants can be injured and eligible for compensation but may only be awarded, say, 70% of their claim because the claimant themselves were in some way also responsible for what happened.

The focus of the law is that just because you were partly responsible doesn’t mean you don’t have a claim at all; instead, you may face some form of reduction. Contributory negligence arguments in motorbike accident claims are also quite common, especially when the injuries are serious.

Common reasons for a partial compensation award due to contributory negligence:

In the majority of cases, a defendant may try to reduce any settlement or compensation award by saying that the claimant was partially or completely at fault for their own injuries.

They may allege that, even though they were liable for the occurrence of the accident, the claimant’s own actions or inactions caused the injury to take place, or that such actions / inactions made the injuries worse.

An allegation of contributory negligence can be distressing, especially if it’s a weak one.

When you’re recuperating from a potentially traumatic injury, it can be stressful and intimidating enough to have to make a claim; the last thing you want is the other side accusing you of being partially to blame.

However, you don’t have to sit there and take it.

We can fight your side to try and ensure you receive the full amount of your claim, or at least lessen the extent of it.

Even if it was partially you at fault, we can try and lessen the reductions.