Eggshell Skull Theory Flashcards
Explain eggshell skull theory with cases
The eggshell skull rule or the thin skull rule is neatly summarized by the statement you take your victims as you find them’ If the plaintiffs suffered personal injury from the wrongful act of defendant it is no answer to claim that the plaintiff would have suffered his less injury if he had not being of unusually thin skull or unusually weak heart. This essentially means that the frailty of the person cannot be used as a defence to escape liability.
The eggshell skull rule has been used in many cases for example, in Smith v. Leech Brain & Co. Ltd. In this case Mrs. Smith’s husband worked in a factory owned by Leech Brain galvanising steel. He had previously worked in a gas industry, making him prone to cancer. One day at work he came out from the behind of his protective shield when working and struck in the lip by molten metal. The burn was treated, but he eventually developed cancer and died three years later.
The protective gear provided to the workers in the factory was not up to the mark.[6] The judge ruled in favour of the plaintiff. The judge said The test is not whether these employers could reasonably have foreseen that a burn would cause cancer and that [the victim] would die. The question is whether these employers could have reasonably foreseen the type of injury he suffered, namely, the burn. If the initial injury was foreseeable then the defendant will be liable.
Held -For the purpose of assessing damages a tortfeasor took his victim as he found him, since the type of injury which S suffered, was reasonably foreseeable, the defendants were liable for the damages claimed, although they could not reasonably have foreseen the ultimate consequences of the initial injury, viz, that the burn would cause cancer from which S would die
