Contributory negligence

Contributory Negligence and Asbestos

• In Badger –v- Ministry of Defence (December 2005), the deceased was negligently exposed to asbestos whilst he was also a regular and moderately heavy smoker of cigarettes. The medical evidence suggested that the risk of developing lung cancer was increased beyond that of someone who had asbestosis, but had never smoked or had given up smoking from an earlier date. Even prior to the advent of health warnings on cigarette packets, the deceased had been advised that certain symptoms from which he suffered were caused through smoking. The claim was reduced by 20% for the deceased’s contributory negligence – the court ruling that by 1971, it was reasonably foreseeable that if the deceased had smoked, he risked damaging his health.
• In Barker –v- St. Gobain Pipelines Plc (2004), the Court of Appeal held that a deduction of 20% would be applied to the widow’s damages for mesothelioma, for the deceased’s contributory negligence in respect of a substantial period of self employment, though this did not reflect a straight line apportionment between exposure and employment.

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