Safe System of Work CASES
Home » Safe System of Work
A miner was injured due to a defective haulage system. His employer argued they had fulfilled their duty by appointing a competent manager. The House of Lords held that the employer's duty to provide a safe system of work is personal and non-delegable. Facts The respondent, Mr English, was a coal miner employed by the appellants, Wilsons & Clyde Coal Company, Ltd. He was injured at the end of his shift while making his way to the pit bottom along a main haulage road. The haulage system in that section was meant to be stopped to allow the men of
An employee of a demolition sub-contractor was injured by a collapsing wall. The main contractor had, before engaging the sub-contractor, negligently demolished an adjacent building, leaving the wall unsafe. The House of Lords held the main contractor owed a duty of care. Facts Mrs. Anderson engaged a main contractor, Mr. Spence (the second defender), to carry out work on her property, including the demolition of a small outbuilding. Subsequently, Durham City Council accepted Mr. Spence’s tender for the demolition of a block of four houses, one of which was adjacent to Mrs. Anderson’s outbuilding. Before the contract with the Council
