Where an employer has failed to provide a safe system of work and the employee's conduct is attributable to haste, heavy workload, and the press of performing allotted tasks, that conduct is properly characterised as inadvertence rather than contributory negligence. The employer's own inadequate warnings and system of assistance are relevant context in assessing whether the employee's failure to seek help constitutes negligence. A challenge to the existence of contributory negligence is logically anterior to, and distinct from, a challenge to the level of apportionment.
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