Van Londen v Dobson

Bell J of the Supreme Court of Victoria heard the matter of *Van Londen v Dobson*. The dispute concerned a claim for damages for personal injury arising from a motor vehicle accident that occurred on 10 March 2018. The plaintiff, Mr. Van Londen, alleged that the defendant, Ms. Dobson, was negligent in her driving, causing the collision and his subsequent injuries. Ms. Dobson denied negligence and contended that Mr. Van Londen was contributorily negligent.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether Ms. Dobson owed a duty of care to Mr. Van Londen, whether she breached that duty of care through negligent driving, and if so, whether that negligence caused Mr. Van Londen's injuries. The Court was also required to determine whether Mr. Van Londen was contributorily negligent and, if both parties were found to be negligent, to apportion liability between them.

Bell J found that Ms. Dobson had breached her duty of care to Mr. Van Londen by failing to keep a proper lookout and by failing to yield to oncoming traffic when turning right. The Court was satisfied that this breach of duty was the sole cause of the collision and Mr. Van Londen's injuries. Consequently, Ms. Dobson was found to be 100% liable for the accident, and no apportionment of blame was made to Mr. Van Londen. The Court proceeded to assess the quantum of damages.