September 24, 2025
A fire officer attended an accident scene where his son had been injured through his own negligent driving. The father suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing his son's injuries. The court held that a person who inflicts injuries upon himself owes no duty of care to third parties who suffer...
September 24, 2025
Mr Gray suffered PTSD from the Ladbroke Grove rail crash caused by the defendants' negligence. Under the effects of this condition, he killed a pedestrian and was convicted of manslaughter with diminished responsibility. He claimed damages for loss of earnings during detention. The House of Lords held public policy precluded...
September 24, 2025
Dr Grant contracted severe dermatitis from wearing woollen underpants containing excess free sulphites due to negligent manufacture. The Privy Council held both the retailer liable for breach of implied warranty under the Sale of Goods Act and the manufacturer liable in tort, extending the Donoghue v Stevenson principle to external...
September 24, 2025
Mrs Gorringe was severely injured when her car collided with a bus at a road crest. She sued the highway authority for failing to paint warning signs on the road. The House of Lords held that neither the statutory duty under section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 nor...
September 24, 2025
Children were scalded when a tea urn was dropped in a narrow passage at a tea room managed by the Corporation. The House of Lords held that the manageress could not reasonably have foreseen the accident occurring from permitting the urn to be carried through, and thus no negligence was...
September 22, 2025
Mrs Gillick challenged DHSS guidance allowing doctors to provide contraceptive advice and treatment to girls under 16 without parental consent. The House of Lords held that parental rights yield when a child achieves sufficient understanding and intelligence to make their own decisions about medical treatment, establishing the 'Gillick competence' test....
September 22, 2025
Mrs Geary sustained tetraplegia after sliding down banisters in a pub and falling backwards onto the marble floor below. She sued the pub owners for negligence. The court held that she had voluntarily assumed an obvious and inherent risk, and the defendant owed no duty to protect her from her...
September 22, 2025
A milk tanker driver suffered frostbite when water entered his steel-capped boot through a tiny hole while digging his lorry out of snow. The House of Lords held (3-2) that the employer's duty to maintain personal protective equipment in good repair under the 1992 Regulations was limited to maintaining its...
September 22, 2025
Police officers who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after assisting victims at the Hillsborough disaster claimed damages from their employer. The House of Lords allowed the appeals, holding that the officers were secondary victims who could not recover for psychiatric injury as neither the employment relationship nor their role as helpers...
September 22, 2025
Mrs Flack was thrown from a horse owned by Mrs Hudson and died from her injuries. The horse had a known propensity to bolt near agricultural machinery. The Court of Appeal upheld liability under the Animals Act 1971, confirming that a bailee (person in possession) can sue the owner for...
September 22, 2025
Mr Ferguson was paralysed during demolition work carried out by unsafe sub-contractors on council-owned premises. He sued the council as occupiers under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957. The House of Lords held the council not liable as they had no knowledge of the dangerous working practices being employed. Facts On...
September 22, 2025
Workers developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos dust by multiple employers in breach of their duties. The House of Lords held that where science cannot determine which employer's breach caused the disease, proof that each materially increased the risk of contracting the disease is sufficient to establish causation. Facts...
September 22, 2025
F, a 36-year-old woman with severe mental disability, was a voluntary hospital patient who formed a sexual relationship with a male patient. Due to her inability to consent to or cope with pregnancy, the court was asked whether sterilisation could lawfully be performed without her consent. The House of Lords...
September 22, 2025
A high tide breached a wall protecting the respondents' farmland, causing flooding. The appellant Catchment Board had statutory power but no duty to repair. They attempted repairs inefficiently, taking 164 days instead of 14. The House of Lords held that having only a power, not a duty, the Board was...
September 22, 2025
Dubai Aluminium was defrauded of $50 million through a bogus consultancy agreement. A solicitor allegedly drafted fraudulent agreements while acting in his firm's ordinary business. The House of Lords held that a partnership can be vicariously liable for a partner's dishonest assistance in breach of trust under section 10 of...
September 22, 2025
Film stars Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones sued Hello! magazine for publishing unauthorised photographs taken covertly at their wedding. They had sold exclusive rights to OK! magazine. The Court of Appeal upheld the Douglases' claim for breach of confidence protecting their privacy but dismissed OK!'s claim, finding no transferable commercial...
September 22, 2025
Seven Borstal trainees escaped from Brownsea Island while officers slept, damaging the respondent's yacht during their escape. The House of Lords held that Borstal officers owed a duty of care to nearby property owners to prevent foreseeable damage by trainees, establishing liability where officers acted outside their instructions. Facts On...
September 22, 2025
Mr Donoghue, a professional diver, dived into Folkestone Harbour at midnight in mid-winter, struck submerged grid piles, and broke his neck. The Court of Appeal held that the harbour owners owed no duty under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 as they had no reason to believe anyone would swim there...
September 22, 2025
Derbyshire County Council sued The Sunday Times for libel over articles questioning the propriety of investments made by the council's superannuation fund. The House of Lords unanimously held that local authorities and governmental bodies cannot sue for defamation, as allowing such actions would create an undesirable fetter on freedom of...
September 22, 2025
The owners of Walcot Hall Estate claimed noise from RAF Harrier jets at nearby RAF Wittering constituted nuisance and violated their human rights. The court found the extreme noise was a nuisance but refused an injunction due to public interest in national defence, instead awarding £950,000 damages as compensation. Facts...
September 22, 2025
Mrs De Freitas sued Mr O'Brien, a spinal surgeon, for negligence after a second back operation caused her permanent disability. The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's finding that a small body of specialist spinal surgeons could constitute a responsible body of medical opinion under the Bolam test, and...
September 22, 2025
The Claimant attended A&E after a head injury and was told he would wait 4-5 hours. He left after 19 minutes without being seen by clinical staff and later suffered serious brain injury. The claim against the hospital for negligence by reception staff in providing inaccurate waiting time information was...
September 22, 2025
Mr Darby drowned while swimming in a pond at a National Trust property. His widow claimed the Trust breached its duty under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 by failing to warn of dangers. The Court of Appeal held that the dangers of swimming were obvious and no warning was required....
September 22, 2025
Lessees of a flat discovered defective plaster caused by negligent sub-contractors employed by the main building contractor. The House of Lords held that the cost of repairing defective work which had not caused personal injury or damage to other property was pure economic loss and not recoverable in tort against...
September 22, 2025
Customs & Excise obtained freezing injunctions against two companies with accounts at Barclays Bank. After the bank was notified of the orders, it negligently permitted substantial fund transfers from both accounts. The court held that the bank owed no duty of care to the claimants merely by receiving notice of...
May 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive
May 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive
May 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive