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Show Contributory Negligence Is Often Misunderstood "Contributory negligence is one of the oldest doctrines of the common law, and is one of the most frequently resorted re-sorted to by lawyers and Judges to wreck what otherwise might be a perfect per-fect case," says a bulletin issued by the legal department of the Chicago Motor club. "Contributory negligence is the most frequent defense interposed in automobile auto-mobile litigation, yet its application is frequently misunderstood by motorists. motor-ists. The meaning of the term is that any act of omission or commission on the part of a driver or owner of an automobile au-tomobile that contributes to an accident acci-dent bars that driver or owner from redress in court. In other words the driver must come into court free from any neglect when he seeks compensation compensa-tion for damages done or injuries sustained. sus-tained. The complications that arose from the rule of comparative negligence negli-gence which at one time existed In most states but which is no longer a rule in Illinois and many other states, so confused the courts that it has been abandoned for the more workable work-able rule of contributory negligence. The fact that the person sued was guilty of negligence and even though I nis degree of Degligence was several times more flagrant than that of the person suing, does not help the case, if the driver suing has been negligent." |