This is a growing collection of topics aimed at developing a broader understanding of personal injury claims to assist professionals in the medico-legal industry. While these are generally accepted principles, there may be differing opinions.

Apportionment

A person who is being sued for damages caused by their negligence may raise a defense of contributory negligence. Contributory negligence occurs where the negligence of all the parties is considered, and the damages may be apportioned (divided) by the amount each party’s negligence contributed to the damages.

Apportionment is applied to acknowledge each wrongdoer’s contribution of their negligence in a particular case. The court will determine the ‘merits’ which is the percentage apportionment applied to the claim. For example, in an accident, the claimant may be at fault for 30%, in which case the claim may be reduced by 30%, to account for their part in negligence.

A common misunderstanding is that apportionment should consider pre-injury factors that impact the loss of earnings. These factors can be addressed by deducting contingencies. 
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