CS - Lawful Visitors

• Laverton v Kiapasha Takeway (2002)


  A customer slipped over in a takeaway on a rainy day, breaking her ankle. The owners had fitted special slip-resistant tiles and regularly mopped the floor on rainy days. The Court decided that the shop owners had taken reasonable care to ensure their customers were safe. There is no duty to keep visitors completely safe, only to do what is reasonable in the circumstances.
• Rochester Cathedral v Debell (2016)


  The Claimant tripped as he was walking through the precincts of the cathedral owing to a minor defect in a bollard in the pavement. In rejecting the Claimant's case, the Court made clear: Tripping, slipping and falling are everyday occurrences - accidents can and do happen. The occupier is under a duty to make the premises reasonably safe for visitors, not to guarantee their safety. The state of the premises must pose a "real source of danger" which a reasonable occupier would recognise requires remedial action.
• Cole v Davis-Gilbert and others (2007)


  the Claimant was injured when she trapped her foot in a hole in a field. The hole had been left over from a village fete two years before. The Court decided that the duty owed by the organisers of the fete could not last indefinitely.
• Jolley v Sutton LBC (2000)


  A 14-year-old boy and his friend had found an old boat abandoned on the council estate where they lived. They decided to repair it and propped it up with a car jack. While the Claimant was working on the boat, the boat fell on him, leaving him paralysed. The Court found the Council had breached their duty of care by failing to move the boat. The boat was something that would be attractive to children and some injury was reasonably foreseeable if children played on or around it.
• Phipps v Rochester Corporation (1955)


  the Claimant was a 5-year-old who was injured after falling down a trench dug on an open piece of ground. The Council was not liable because the child was too young to be out playing alone - the fault lay with the parents.
• Bourne Leisure v Marsden (2009)


  Sometimes accidents can occur where neither parent nor occupier is at fault.
• Roles v Nathan (1963)


  Two chimney sweeps died from inhaling poisonous fumes, despite being warned about the danger. The claim failed because this was exactly the sort of special risk arising from their job which they should have been familiar with and guarded against.
• Haseldine v Daw (1941)


  The Claimant was killed when a lift plunged to the bottom of its shaft after being negligently repaired by an independent contractor. The Court decided the occupier was not liable for the death. The occupiers had fulfilled their duty of care by appointing an apparently competent firm to maintain the lift, and the highly technical nature of the work meant that it was reasonable to entrust the task to a specialist.
• Bottomley v Todmorden Cricket Club (2003)


  A guest was injured during a firework display. A cricket club had hired a stunt team to put on the display and the team used gunpowder and petrol. The cricket club were liable because they had failed to exercise reasonable care to choose safe and competent contractors.
• Woodward v Mayor of Hastings (1945)


  A child was injured on school steps that were left icy after workmen had cleared the snow off them earlier. The occupiers were liable as they failed to take reasonable steps to check the work had been done properly and the danger should have been obvious to them.
• Rae v Marrs (1990)


  The Claimant entered the door of an unlit shed and fell into a deep pit just before he had a chance to switch his torch on. The Court decided that the warning sign was not sufficient to keep visitors safe because it could not be seen. The occupier should have done more in the circumstances, for example by providing some sort of barrier around the pit.
• Staples v West Dorset (1995)


  The Claimant slipped on algae-covered rocks at the seaside. He claimed there should have been a warning sign in place, but the Court found that the danger was obvious and a visitor should have been aware of it.