contributory negligence

American  

noun

Law.

1. negligence on the part of an injured party that combines with the negligence of another in causing the injury, sometimes so as to diminish or bar the recovery of damages for the injury.

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contributory negligence British  

noun

1. law failure by an injured person to have taken proper precautions to prevent an accident

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Etymology

Origin of contributory negligence

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Makes going to Dallas for a Cowboys game such a doubtful decision that your insurance company will refuse to pay on the grounds of contributory negligence.

From New York Times • Jul. 10, 2016

Last week’s fireworks in the council were only the latest in a two-year battle between cyclists and motorists over the city’s contributory negligence law, also known as the 1 percent rule.

From Washington Times • Jul. 4, 2016

D.C. law uses a standard of contributory negligence, meaning that if the cyclist or pedestrian is found to be 1 percent at fault in a crash, he or she cannot recover damages.

From Washington Post

As a result, the judge instructed the jury to consider whether Mrs. Busick was guilty of contributory negligence by virtue of having ignored a handy safety device that might have prevented her injuries.

From Time Magazine Archive

You know my idea is that the chief end of man is to go b'ah hunting, and he oughtn't to be guilty of contributory negligence by staying at home too much.

From The Law of the Land by Hough, Emerson