Liddell v Middleton, [1996] PIQR
Citation:Liddell v Middleton, [1996] PIQR
Rule of thumb:If you are a pedestrian who was hit by a car after drinking, do you still have a claim? Yes, drinking alcohol only counts as contributory negligence – whether the driver has broken the Highway Code is the key point.
Judgment:
The Court held that where an accident occurs to a pedestrian who has been drinking alcohol there will generally always be a % deducted from the sum for contributory negligence, generally between 20-50% of the sum awarded, but it should not affect liability altogether, with the usual test of whether the pedestrian came ‘out of nowhere’ being the one to assess, ‘’It is not the fact that a plaintiff has consumed too much alcohol that matters, it is what it he does. If he steps in front of a car travelling at 30mph at a time when the driver has no opportunity to avoid an accident, that is a very dangerous and unwise thing to do. The explanation of his conduct may be that he was drunk; but the fact of drunkenness does not, in my judgement, make the conduct any more or less dangerous and it does not in these circumstances increase the blameworthiness of it’, Smith LJ ‘... In road traffic cases the function of the expert is to furnish the judge with the necessary scientific criteria and assistance based upon a special skill and expertise not possessed by ordinary laymen to enable the Judge to interpret the factual evidence of the marks in the road, the damage or whatever it may be’, Smith LJ
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.