September 24, 2025
Gray v Thames Trains [2009] UKHL 33 (17 June 2009)
The claimant suffered PTSD from a rail crash caused by the defendant's negligence. He later committed manslaughter. The House of Lords held he could not claim damages for losses resulting from his own criminal act and subsequent detention, applying the ex turpi causa principle. Facts The claimant, Mr Gray, was a passenger on a train involved in the Ladbroke Grove rail disaster, for which the defendant, Thames Trains, admitted liability in negligence. Mr Gray suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the crash. Subsequently, he was involved in a road-rage incident where he stabbed and killed a
