ss 1–7 DAMAGES (APPORTIONMENT AND ASSESSMENT) ACT DISTRIBUTED BY VERITAS VERITAS MAKES EVERY EFFORT TO ENSURE THE PROVISION OF RELIABLE INFORMATION, BUT CANNOT TAKE LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR INFORMATION SUPPLIED. CHAPTER 8:06 DAMAGES (APPORTIONMENT AND ASSESSMENT) ACT Acts 41/1971, 41/1973, 28/1985. AN ACT to amend the law relating to contributory negligence and to provide for other matters incidental thereto. [Date of commencement: Sections 2 to 8, 1st June, 1971; Section 9, 9th November 1973.] 1 Short title This Act may be cited as the Damages (Apportionment and Assessment) Act [Chapter 8:06]. 2 Interpretation In this Act— “fault” means negligence, breach of statutory duty or any other act, omission or circumstance which gives rise to delictual liability, or which would, but for this Act, give rise to the defence of contributory negligence. 3 Application of Act (1) This Act shall bind the State. (2) This Act shall not operate to— (a) defeat any defence arising under a contract; (b) increase the amount of damages beyond any maximum prescribed in any agreement or a law applicable in respect of a claim for damages. 4 Apportionment of liability in case of contributory negligence (1) Where any person suffers damage which was caused partly by his own fault and partly by the fault of any other person, a claim in respect of that damage shall not be defeated by reason of the fault of the claimant, but the damages awarded in respect thereof shall be reduced by the court to such extent as the court may deem just and equitable having regard to the respective degrees of fault of the claimant and of such other person in so far as the fault of either of them contributed to the damage. (2) Damage shall, for the purpose of subsection (1), be regarded as having been caused by a person’s fault notwithstanding the fact that another person had an opportunity of avoiding the consequences thereof and negligently failed to do so. 525 [Chapter 8:06]