The word 'fault' in the definition of 'blameless motor accident' in s 7A of the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (NSW) is confined to tortious negligence and does not include the contributory negligence of the injured person. A motor accident where the driver is not tortiously at fault and no third party tortfeasor caused the accident is a 'blameless motor accident' even if the injured person's own contributory negligence caused or contributed to the accident. In such cases, contributory negligence is assessed under s 7F not by comparative analysis of culpability (Podrebersek) but by assessing the extent to which the plaintiff departed from the standard of care for their own safety. A finding of 100% contributory negligence is not warranted merely because the plaintiff was the sole cause of the accident.
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