Government Insurance Office of NSW v Morgan

The Government Insurance Office of NSW (GIO) appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the District Court of NSW which had awarded damages to the respondent, Mr Morgan, for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. The central dispute concerned the extent to which Mr Morgan's damages should be reduced due to his contributory negligence.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the District Court judge had erred in finding that Mr Morgan was not contributorily negligent, or alternatively, if the apportionment of damages made by the District Court was manifestly wrong. The appeal therefore focused on the application of the principles of contributory negligence in the context of a motor vehicle accident.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Kirby P, Mahoney JA and Meagher JA, found that the District Court judge had made an error in failing to find any contributory negligence on the part of Mr Morgan. Their Honours reasoned that Mr Morgan, as a passenger in the vehicle, had a duty to take reasonable care for his own safety. They concluded that, given the circumstances of the accident, Mr Morgan ought to have taken some action to warn the driver or otherwise protect himself, and his failure to do so constituted contributory negligence. The Court held that the apportionment of 100% of the damages to the GIO was therefore incorrect.

The Court of Appeal varied the order of the District Court, finding Mr Morgan to be 20% contributorily negligent. Consequently, the damages awarded to Mr Morgan were reduced by 20%.