ABSTRACT
Contributory negligence occurs when claimants are partly responsible for the damage they have suffered. Under the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945, the compensation payable to such claimants will be reduced in accordance with their degree of fault. In Reeves v Metropolitan Police Commissioner (1999), the claimant’s husband had committed suicide whilst in police custody. He was a known suicide risk, but the police had failed to carry out proper procedures. The police were liable for his death, but the compensation payable was reduced by 50% because the suicide itself was seen as contributory negligence.
