Howlett v Campion

The appeal concerned a road accident in which the plaintiff, Mr. Howlett, suffered injuries. The primary dispute revolved around the apportionment of fault, with the defendant, Mr. Campion, alleging contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff. The case was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issues before the court were whether there was a causative link between the road design and the accident, and if so, how fault should be apportioned between the parties. The court was also required to assess the plaintiff's damages, considering the proportion of the "most extreme case" and calculating past and future economic loss by determining the difference in value between the plaintiff's unimpaired and impaired earning capacities.

The Court of Appeal found that there was no causative link between the road design and the accident, thereby dismissing the argument that the road design contributed to the incident. Consequently, the court did not need to apportion fault between the parties. The assessment of damages proceeded on the basis that the accident was not caused by any defect in the road design. The court then proceeded to assess the plaintiff's damages, including past and future economic loss, by comparing his earning capacity before and after the injuries sustained in the accident.

The court ordered that the appeal be dismissed and that the plaintiff recover his costs of the appeal. The original judgment of the trial court was affirmed.