Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 CASES

September 24, 2025

National Case Law Archive

Law books in a law library

Gwilliam v West Hertfordshire Hospital NHS Trust [2002] EWCA Civ 1041 (24 July 2002)

A claimant was injured on a 'splat-wall' run by an uninsured independent contractor at a hospital fete. The Court of Appeal held the hospital's duty included taking reasonable steps to check the contractor's insurance but found it had not breached this duty. Facts The claimant, Mrs Gwilliam, a 63-year-old woman, was injured while using a ‘splat-wall’ amusement at a summer fete organised by the West Hertfordshire Hospital NHS Trust (‘the Trust’) on its premises. The attraction was provided and operated by an independent contractor, Club Entertainment. The mechanism of the wall failed, causing Mrs Gwilliam to fall and sustain serious

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