Occupiers Liability
Definitions
Occupier: The person in control of the premises
No statutory definition
If no-one is in control of the premises then there can be no claim
There can be more than one occupier of a premises
Wheat v Lacon & Co:
Manager of a pub given the right to rent out rooms in his private quarters (the Brewery company, 'Lacon', retained the ownership rights.) A paying guest fell on an unlit staircase that had a faulty banister and died.
Premises: 'fixed or movable structure including vessel, vehicle, and aircraft'
No stat.definition
Buildings
Scaffolding
Fire escapes
OLA 1957
Lawful visitors
- Invitees
- Licensees
- Those who enter pursuant to a contract
- Exercising a right conferred by law
S2(2): states that the occupier must keep visitors reasonably safe in using the premises for the purpose they were invited in for
Rochester Cathedral v Debell:
Claimant injured when he tripped over a broken fence post in the precincts of Rochester cathedral. Not more than an everyday risk.
Children
S2(3) occupier must be prepared for children to be less careful than adults, premises must be reasonably safe for a child of that age.
Where the child is very young, parents will be held responsible
Where there is an allurement, occupier will only be liable for damage that is forseeable.
Glasgow Corp v Taylor:
7 y/o child ate berries at Botanic Gardens of Glasgow, not fenced off, no warning signs, alluring to children.
Tradesmen
S2(3): should 'appreciate and guard against any special risks to their trade'
Roles v Nathan: Chimney sweeps died after ignoring all warnings.
Independent Contractors
S2(4): Liability can be passed to contractor if they:
1) Acted reasonably in entrusting the contractor
2) Taken reasonable steps to ensure that the contractor was competent
3) Taken reasonable steps to inspect the work
Haseldine v Daw:
Hydraulic lift, engineers liable for not repacking it, not the landlord.
Defences
Warning notices
S2(4): Must be enough to enable visitor to be reasonably safe
Rae v Mars Ltd
Surveyor fell into unlit storeroom, injured, no warning signs (though was contributory negligent too, no torch)
If danger is obvious, no warning notices required.
Cotton v Derbyshire Dales CC:
Drunk man fell off a cliff, no obligation to warn him of an obvious risk.
Exclusion clauses
(Eg enter at own risk)
Trader cannot exclude or restrict liability for death/PI resulting from negligence
Contributory negligence
Consent
OLA 1984
Trespassers
S1(1): Danger due to state of premises
Trespasser: Someone who has no permission to be on a premises, or who has exceeded given permission.
Only covers personal injury, not damage to property
If premises are safe and the accident was caused by C, the claim fails.
Keown v Coventry NHS:
11y/o climbing on fire escape in known area where children liked to play, so 1/3 of responsibility on NHS bc it was a known risk.
Duty owed to trespassers
S1(3): Occupier will owe a duty if:
Defendant is aware of the danger
D knows/believes a trespasser will come into the area (accounting for time of day etc)
Rhind v Astbury Water Park:
Dived but hit his head, notices that swimming not allowed. Water park aware of the danger but did not act, man contributory negligent.
The risk is one where D is expected to offer some protection
Where dangers are obvious, occupier will not be liable.
Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council:
C visited lake, rangers, signs etc telling ppl not to swim, swam anyway, tetraplegic, not liable.
Defences
S1(5) Warning notices
Westwood v Post Office:
Post office injured entering an unlocked room w/ a warning notice of danger, D not liable
Contributory negligence
Consent