The Blip Blop Blog (Team Entity)

In Langley v Dray (1998) the defendant was driving a stolen car and while he was on the motorway, he was spotted by a policeman. The plaintiff, the policeman, gave chase and the defendant stepped on the accelerator. A motorway speed chase ensued. The policeman subsequently lost control of his car and there was an accident. The plaintiff sued. In line with the decision with Haynes v Harwood (1935) the court found in favor of the policeman. Let’s apply the duty, breach and causation requirements. The standard that is imposed on any driver is that of the reasonable and competent driver or road-user and this standard applies even if the driver is a learner-driver see Nettleship v Weston (1971) and it is regardless of whether the defendant is ill or is struck by a sudden illness see Roberts v Ramsbottom (1980). Hence there was a duty of care owed in that the defendant had to exercise the care of a reasonable and competent driver. The test that is to be applied is the objecti

In John Munroe (Acrylics) Ltd v London Fire and Civil Defense Authority (1997) the fire brigade was called in to put out a fire on an adjoining property. The firemen inspected the area and once they’d finished, they left the scene believing that the fire had been put out but failed to take note of some soldering debris. Once they had left, the fire started again and spread to the plaintiff’s property and caused damaged to his property. The plaintiff sued but was unsuccessful. The court held that there was no duty owed. The standard of care that is imposed on the fire brigade is similar to that which is owed by the police and applying the principle in Hill v Chief Constable of Yorkshire (1989) the court found that imposing a duty under the circumstances would impede the fire brigade and would not allow them to carry out their duties efficiently. It would lead to defensive firefighting in that firemen would be more concerned or may become preoccupied with the liabilities that may

In Margereson & Hancock v JW Roberts Ltd (1996) two children, the plaintiffs, who grew up playing close to a factory, later had cancer because they were exposed to asbestos dust from the factory. The plaintiffs sued. Despite the fact that the damage suffered was removed from the time the plaintiffs were close to the factory, they were successful. The court held that it was foreseeable that the defendants’ negligence in allowing the contaminants to escape would lead to some type of illness or other to anyone that came in contact with the pollutants and that illness may be detached from the time the victims were exposed to the contaminants. Delay in the impact of being exposed to pollutants is a facet of environmental damage and illnesses incurred as a result of being exposed to fumes and dusts released from factories often manifest or materialize at a later time or place. In OLL v Secretary of State for the Home Department (1996) 8 boys, 2 teachers and an instructor

In Barrett v Ministry of Defense (1995) the plaintiff’s husband was working in the navy and was stationed in Norway. On the night of the incident he’d been drinking heavily and caught the attention of a senior officer who then instructed a petty officer to make sure he was well and to get him back to his bunk. The petty officer did as he was instructed and checked on him on a few occasions but despite that, he died during the night. His wife, the plaintiff brought an action in court alleging that her husband’s death could have been prevented had it not been for the defendants’ negligence. The court held that under normal circumstances the navy did not owe her husband a duty of care but the court decided that a duty of care was owed in this instance because a senior officer had taken charge of matters. If the conduct of the plaintiff’s husband did not come to the attention of the senior officer or if he was drinking around the corner somewhere unknown to anyone, a duty of ca

The decision in Kirkham v Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police (1990) must be compared with the decision in Knight v Home Office (1990). The case concerns a 21-year-old boy who had suicidal tendencies and was imprisoned. The prison authorities were aware of his condition and the authorities kept a constant watch on the boy at regular intervals. Despite the precautions that were taken the boy committed suicide and his parents sued. It was held that the prison authorities had taken relevant care by ensuring that the boy was kept under frequent watch. A prison however was not a hospital for the psychiatrically ill and the plaintiff could not expect the same level of care as one would expect from a hospital. The prison authorities were only required to exercise the level of care that was required for a prison and the prison authorities in this instance were deemed to have done just that. The plaintiff was unsuccessful. In Hale v London Underground Ltd (1993), the cas

We have previously examined the scope of duty that is owed by the police and rescue workers and the duty that is owed by third parties to them. Are similar rules applicable to other components, arms or branches of the emergency services like the fire brigade? In Ogwo v Taylor (1987) the defendant negligently set fire to his house while trying to burn off some paint on the walls, with a blow torch, beneath the roof of his house and inadvertently set fire to the whole house. The fire brigade was called in and in order to put the fire out the firemen had to make their way to the roof of the house where the heat was most intense and despite the protective gear that the firemen had on, one of the firemen, the plaintiff, suffered serious burns. The plaintiff sued and was successful. Could the defendant have raised the defense of volenti? While all members of the emergency services agree to accept some risk when they sign up, it is a question of the level of risk that they’d accep

In McKay v Essex Area Health Authority (1982) the plaintiffs, a mother and her child sued a doctor for not advising the mother to terminate her pregnancy. The mother had contracted rubella or German measles while she was pregnant and the chances were high that the child would be born with serious or severe disabilities but because the mother was not advised accordingly, she continued with the pregnancy. The court held that the doctor was not liable under the circumstances despite the fact that he’d not given the mother suitable medical advice. In today’s dynamic and multi-faceted world, it is possible in many instances to determine whether a child will be born healthy or otherwise and it may be appropriate to place a duty on doctors to inform all prospective mothers of any risks involved with the pregnancy or educate the mothers as to the risks as soon as the facts become available. The decision to terminate the pregnancy or otherwise however should be left entirely in the hand

In Chadwick v British Railways Board (1967), the case concerns the duty of care that is owed to rescue workers and the Lewisham train disaster which left 90 people dead and nearly 200 others injured. On the 4th of December 1957 two trains collided at St. Johns Railway Station just outside Lewisham. The collision derailed one of the trains that subsequently fell on carriages ferrying evening rush hour commuters. The plaintiff a volunteer worked tirelessly as a rescuer to try and safe as many passengers as possible and as a result suffered from shock and anxiety attacks and was forced to seek treatment. An action was brought in court for damages. While the case is more relevant with regards or reference to rescue workers, by applying the normal criteria to establish duty and breach we can come to the conclusion that the defendants owed the plaintiff a duty of care. A duty of care is owed not only to persons who are directly affected by an incident or an accident but als

In McWilliams v Arrol (1962) the plaintiff a steel erector had fallen 70 feet from a lattice tower. He was working without a safety harness and despite statutory requirements that made it mandatory for the plaintiff to be provided with a safety harness, his employers, the defendants failed to do so. The plaintiff’s estate sued the defendants on the grounds that it was their negligence in not complying with their statutory duties that had caused the plaintiff’s death. During the trial the question of whether the plaintiff would have used the safety harness had he been provided with one surfaced and there was nothing to say for certain that he would have. It was held that the defendants were not liable because it could not be established with certainty that if it wasn’t for the defendants’ omission that death could have or would have been prevented. In Sayers v Harlow UDC (1958) the plaintiff used one of the public toilets provided by the defendants. When she tried to leave t

Just like the words in an enactment or a statute can lead to an ambiguity, similarly words in a contract can also sometimes be a source of confusion. Therefore, the courts have developed certain guidelines in addition to the existing rules of interpretation (see statutory interpretation) to make the law more flexible. In Investors Compensation Scheme Ltd. v West Bromwich Building Society (1998) Lord Hoffman set out five guidelines to aid with the interpretation of contracts. They are as follows: - 1) The terms in a contract should be looked at from the perspective of the reasonable man after taking into account all the background knowledge that was available to the parties at the time of entering into the contract. 2) The background knowledge that is to be taken into account is what is known as the matrix of facts or the factual matrix that was put forward by Lord Wilberforce and it includes anything, as long as the information is available to the parties, which would have affect