October 2, 2025
Several linked appeals considered whether local education authorities and their staff could be liable in negligence for failures in identifying and addressing children’s special educational needs. The House of Lords recognised duties of care, allowed most appeals, and treated educational under-provision as actionable damage, including economic loss. Facts Phelps Pamela...
October 2, 2025
Performance Cars’ Rolls-Royce was damaged in two minor collisions before repairs were done. The first already required an expensive respray. The Court of Appeal held the second driver was not liable for that cost because his negligence caused no additional need to respray. Facts On 25 February 1960 the defendant,...
October 2, 2025
Mr and Mrs Patchett chose a swimming pool contractor from SPATA’s website, relying on statements that members were vetted and covered by a bond and warranty scheme. The contractor was only an affiliate member and became insolvent. The Court of Appeal held SPATA owed no duty of care for these...
October 2, 2025
Mrs Parkinson’s sterilisation was negligently performed, leading to the birth of her disabled son Scott. The Court of Appeal held she could recover the additional costs of caring for his disabilities, but not the ordinary costs of his upbringing, distinguishing McFarlane on disabled children. Facts The defendant NHS Trust managed...
October 2, 2025
Mr Paris, effectively blind in one eye, was employed as a garage hand and suffered total blindness when a metal fragment entered his good eye while hammering a bolt. The House of Lords held that his known vulnerability increased his employer’s duty of care, requiring eye protection. Facts The appellant,...
October 2, 2025
A psychiatric patient, Armstrong, murdered four‑year‑old Rosie Palmer. Her mother sued health authorities, alleging negligent diagnosis, treatment and failure to detain him, and claiming for her own psychiatric injury. The Court of Appeal held there was no duty of care to unidentifiable victims and her secondary victim claim failed. Appeal...
October 2, 2025
Mr Page, with a pre-existing chronic fatigue condition, was involved in a car collision caused by Mr Smith but suffered no physical injury. He later developed permanent relapse of his condition. The House of Lords held that as a primary victim he only needed to show foreseeable personal injury, not...
October 2, 2025
Oil negligently discharged from the appellants' ship spread across Sydney Harbour and ignited, destroying the respondents' wharf. The Privy Council held that liability in negligence depends on whether the damage was reasonably foreseeable, overruling the 'direct consequences' test in Re Polemis. This established foreseeability as the test for remoteness of...
October 2, 2025
The plaintiff was held in prison 81 days beyond the custody time limit prescribed by regulations. She sued the Home Office for false imprisonment and the Crown Prosecution Service for breach of statutory duty. The Court of Appeal struck out both claims, holding the prison governor was bound by the...
October 2, 2025
Three appeals concerning economic torts. OBG involved receivers invalidly appointed who took control of company assets. Douglas v Hello! concerned publication of surreptitiously taken celebrity wedding photographs. Mainstream involved directors diverting a development opportunity. The House clarified the distinct torts of inducing breach of contract and causing loss by unlawful...
October 2, 2025
A mother witnessed her ten-month-old baby have a fit in hospital due to negligent treatment, was given incorrect reassurances, then learned of severe brain damage, and held her son as he died 36 hours later. The court held this constituted a single horrifying event permitting recovery for psychiatric injury as...
October 2, 2025
Mr Morris's recording studio suffered electromagnetic interference from Railtrack's TI 21 signalling system, affecting electric guitars with amplifiers. The Court of Appeal allowed Railtrack's appeal, holding that the interference at 80 metres distance was not reasonably foreseeable, defeating the nuisance claim. Facts Mr Morris operated a recording studio at 339...
October 2, 2025
A driving instructor was injured when a learner driver lost control and crashed into a lamp post. The Court of Appeal held that learner drivers owe the same standard of care as experienced drivers, even to their instructors. The instructor's damages were reduced by half for contributory negligence. Facts Mrs...
October 2, 2025
Mr Murphy purchased a house built on a defective concrete raft foundation which had been approved by the council's independent consulting engineers. When cracks appeared and the house became dangerous, he sold it at a loss. The House of Lords departed from Anns v Merton, holding that local authorities owe...
October 2, 2025
The plaintiff went on a flight with a pilot who had consumed the equivalent of 17 whiskies after spending the afternoon drinking together. The aircraft crashed, killing the pilot and severely injuring the plaintiff. The Court of Appeal held that the defence of volenti non fit injuria applied, as the...
September 30, 2025
Mrs Montgomery, a diabetic woman of small stature, was not warned by her obstetrician about the 9-10% risk of shoulder dystocia during vaginal delivery. Her son suffered severe disabilities during birth. The Supreme Court held doctors must inform patients of material risks, departing from the Bolam test for disclosure of...
September 30, 2025
Monsanto sought injunctions against protesters who uprooted genetically modified crops as part of their GenetiX Snowball campaign. The defendants argued their actions were justified by necessity and public interest concerns about GM crop dangers. The Court of Appeal allowed Monsanto's appeal, holding that no defence of necessity or public interest...
September 30, 2025
A customer at a petrol station was subjected to an unprovoked violent racist attack by an employee after making a routine enquiry. The Supreme Court held the employer vicariously liable, applying the 'close connection' test. The employee's assault was a seamless continuation of his interaction with the customer within his...
September 30, 2025
James Mitchell, aged 72, was fatally assaulted by his neighbour James Drummond following years of threats and anti-social behaviour. Mitchell's widow and daughter sued Glasgow City Council, their landlord, alleging the Council owed a duty of care to warn Mitchell about a meeting with Drummond concerning potential eviction. The court...
September 30, 2025
Mr Mirvahedy was seriously injured when his car collided with a horse that had escaped from the Henleys' field after being frightened and stampeding through fences. Despite no negligence by the horse owners, the House of Lords held they were strictly liable under section 2(2) of the Animals Act 1971...
September 30, 2025
Joanna Michael made a 999 call reporting threats from her ex-partner. Due to communication failures between two police forces, officers arrived too late and she was murdered. The Supreme Court held police owed no common law duty of care to protect individuals from third-party violence absent an assumption of responsibility,...
September 30, 2025
A crane driver employed by the Harbour Board was hired out with his crane to stevedores. When the driver negligently injured a checker, the question arose whether the Board or the stevedores were vicariously liable. The House of Lords held the Board remained liable as they retained control over how...
September 30, 2025
A steel erector died after falling from a tower when not wearing a safety belt. His employers had failed to provide one, but evidence showed he had never worn safety belts when available. The House of Lords held that the breach of duty did not cause his death, as he...
September 30, 2025
The widow of a man who died from lung cancer sued a tobacco manufacturer for negligence. The court dismissed the claim, finding she had failed to prove that any breach of duty by the company caused her husband to smoke. Facts The pursuer, Mrs McTear, brought an action for damages...
September 30, 2025
Mrs McLoughlin suffered severe psychiatric illness after arriving at hospital to find her family seriously injured and her daughter dead following a road accident caused by the defendants' negligence. The House of Lords held she could recover damages for nervous shock despite not witnessing the accident itself, establishing that liability...
May 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive
May 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive
May 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive