A defendant is not confined to denials of the allegations of the complaint or petition, but is entitled to set out new matter in defense or as a basis for affirmative relief. In a suit in which plaintiff alleges that defendant has been negligent, contributory negligence by the plaintiff is sometimes a defense which a defendant can raise.
This form is a generic example of an answer and affirmative defense that may be referred to when preparing such a pleading for your particular state.
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Contributory negligence is a legal defense that comes into play in some personal injury cases. Under this defense, if the person who was hurt did anything themselves that contributed to the accident or injury, then the defendant is not responsible for the injury.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, an allegedly guilty party who relies upon an affirmative defense must assert such defense by both pleadings and proof. Affirmative defenses include, but are not limited to, condonation, connivance, collusion, recrimination, insanity and lapse of time.
Examples of affirmative defenses include: Contributory negligence, which reduces a defendant's civil liability when the plaintiff's own negligence contributed to the plaintiff's injury.
When a defendant alleges comparative or contributory negligence as an affirmative defense, he is claiming that the plaintiff did something to cause the wreck. Sometimes it is hard to determine who is at fault after an auto accident.
The party raising the affirmative defense has the burden of proof on establishing that it applies. Raising an affirmative defense does not prevent a party from also raising other defenses. Self-defense, entrapment, insanity, necessity, and respondeat superior are some examples of affirmative defenses.
If you file an Answer to the lawsuit and defend yourself in court, you can state an affirmative defense. You can deny what the plaintiff says you did without saying anything else. But you can also have affirmative defenses. You must raise it in your Answer or you may give up your right to bring it up later.
The elements are pretty simple: The defendant had a duty to the injured party. The defendant failed to act on his duty. The negligent act caused direct injury. The injury should have been reasonably foreseeable.
Courts prefer the defence of contributory negligence because it enables them to apportion damages between the parties, thus allowing the plaintiff to recover something, even in cases where the plaintiff bears a very significant share of responsibility for the harm suffered.
