Omissions
As a general rule the law does not impose liability for an omission - failure to act, because there is not a Good Samaritan’ law in the English legal system.
Statutory Obligation
States that it is an offence to fail to provide a breath specimen to a police officer when requested to do so.
It is also an offence to fail stop after a road
traffic accident (RTA 1988)
s.6 Road Traffic Act 1988
A Contractual Duty
Domestic Violence Crime and
Victims Act 2004
It is an offence for a member of the same household to cause or allow the death of a vulnerable child or adult.
R v Pittwood (1902)
The D was employed as a
gatekeeper at a railway crossing,
He went for his lunch and forgot to close the gate, as a result man on a cart crossed the line and was killed.
Voluntary Assuming Responsibility
Official position
Special Relationship
Gibbins and Proctor (1918)
Gibbins daughter lived with him and his partner, Proctor. They deliberately starved her to death. They both had a duty to care for her and were responsible for murder by omission.
Stone allowed his sister to come and live with them, she was anorexic and refused medical attention. The D’s made no attempt to get her medical help, in allowing her to live with them, they had assumed responsibility for her so they were liable for failing to act.
Stone and Dobinson (1977)
Creating a dangerous situation
R v Dytham (1979)
R v Miller (1983)
A uniformed officer saw a man being kick to death. He took no steps to stop the attack and drove away when it was over. He was convicted of ‘misconduct in public office’, as had neglected to act to protect the victim.
The D, Miller was squatting in a house and fell asleep whilst smoking a cigarette. He awoke to discover that his mattress was on fire. Instead of putting it out he moved to a different room and went back to sleep.
Once he was aware of the situation he had a duty to do something about it, e.g. to call 999.