Obvious Risk CASES

September 22, 2025

National Case Law Archive

Lady justice next to law books

Geary v JD Wetherspoon Plc [2011] EWHC 1506 (QB) (14 June 2011)

A claimant who sustained a severe spinal injury after attempting to slide down a pub's bannister sued the occupier. The court found the pub was not liable, as the risk of falling was obvious and the claimant had voluntarily chosen to accept it. Facts The claimant, Ms Sarah Geary, was attending a post-work gathering at ‘The Union’, a JD Wetherspoon pub in Norwich. The pub featured a grand open staircase with low bannisters. At the end of the evening, in a moment she described as a ‘bit of fun’, Ms Geary decided to slide down the bannister. She lost her

September 22, 2025

National Case Law Archive

Lady justice with law books

Darby v National Trust [2001] EWCA Civ 189 (29 January 2001)

The claimant's husband drowned while swimming in a pond on National Trust property where paddling was permitted. The Court of Appeal found the Trust was not liable as the risk of drowning in murky, unwatched water was an obvious danger. Facts The claimant’s husband, Mr Thomas Darby, drowned in the Great Pond at Hardwick Hall, a property owned and managed by the defendant, the National Trust. The claimant, Mrs Cissie Darby, brought a claim on behalf of her husband’s estate and as a dependant under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. On the day of the incident, notices indicated that boating