Owens v Brimmell
A passenger who accepts a lift from a driver he knows has been drinking heavily is contributorily negligent, and his damages may be reduced.
Facts
Mr Owens and Mr Brimmell went out drinking together, visiting several pubs and drinking about eight or nine pints of beer each. Mr Brimmell then drove them home, and crashed the car because of his drunkenness. Mr Owens was seriously injured. He sued Mr Brimmell.
Legal principle
Watkins J held that Mr Owens was contributorily negligent, and reduced his damages by 20 per cent. A passenger may be guilty of contributory negligence if he rides with a driver whom he knows has consumed alcohol in such quantity as is likely to impair to a dangerous degree that driver's capacity to drive properly and safely, or if he goes on a drinking expedition with the driver, knowing that he will later be driven by him. The defence of volenti did not apply, because of the statutory exclusion for road traffic cases.
Related cases on defences and damages
- Baker v TE Hopkins & Son Ltd [1959] 1 WLR 966
- Dann v Hamilton [1939] 1 KB 509
- Froom v Butcher [1976] QB 286
- Gray v Thames Trains Ltd [2009] UKHL 33, [2009] 1 AC 1339
- H West & Son Ltd v Shephard [1964] AC 326
- Haynes v Harwood [1935] 1 KB 146
- Henderson v Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust [2020] UKSC 43, [2021] AC 563
- Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd v Shatwell [1965] AC 656
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