September 29, 2025
Keown v Coventry Healthcare NHS Trust [2006] EWCA Civ 39
An 11-year-old boy fell from a fire escape at a hospital while trespassing. The Court of Appeal held the hospital was not liable, as the injury resulted from the boy's dangerous activity, not a defect in the premises. Facts The claimant, an 11-year-old boy, climbed the underside of an external steel fire escape on the grounds of a hospital owned and occupied by the defendant, the Coventry Healthcare NHS Trust. He was attempting to show off to his friends. While climbing, he fell from a height of over 30 feet and suffered significant brain damage and brachial plexus injuries. The
