Sir Ranulph, 66, was returning from the 42-mile High Peak Marathon on March 6th this year when he momentarily fell asleep at the wheel of his X-type Jaguar, which struck Luigi Castaldo痴 Nissan Micra with such force that it was pitched into a roll. Although his son, a passenger in his car, was not injured, Mr Castaldo himself had to be taken to hospital after the crash and still requires help to walk.

However, in court it came to light that he was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, which undoubtedly contributed to his injuries. If Mr Castaldo is considering making a compensation claim for his injuries, this fact could work against him.

Contributory negligence often has the effect of lowering an award made by the court in the event of such an occurrence. It is obvious that, had he been wearing his seatbelt, Mr Castaldo痴 injuries would have been much lighter.

Having said that, Sir Ranulph should not be let off the hook. The former army officer, who climbed to the summit of Everest only last year, has at no point tried to excuse or deflect the blame away from himself. However, even the prosecution admitted that Sir Ranulph is not 疎 normal human being.