gross negligence manslaughter cases Flashcards
R v Adomako
D was an anaesthetist. During an operation, one of the tubes supplying oxygen because disconnected. D failed to notice this. V died.
D had a contractual duty of care. D’s failure to read was abysmal.
R v Singh
D was the landlord of property in which a faulty gas fire caused the deaths of the remnants.
It was recognised that there was a duty on D to manage and maintain property properly. Contractual duty of care
R v Litchfield
D was the owner and master of a sailing ship. He sailed knowing that the engines might fail because of contamination to the fuel. The shop was blown onto rocks and three crew members died. D owed a duty of care.
R v Wacker
D agreed to bring 60 illegal immigrants into England in the back of his lorry. He closed the air vent and forgot to reopen it. 58 of the immigrants died.
Had a duty of care through joint enterprise.
Stone and Dobinson
Stone’s sister came to live with the defendants who were barely able to look after themselves. V was anorexic and died from malnutrition. Neither of the defendants called for medical help.
Owed a duty of care through relationship and allowing V into home to take care of her. Voluntary assumption of responsibility
Dytham
D, a police officer walks away as an incident occurred. He was on duty at the time.
He has a duty of care to public office.
Miller
D set fire to a mattress, walked away and fell asleep.
D created a duty of care through a dangerous situation.
Willoughby
Two men set fire to a pub in order to claim on insurance. One of the men died in the fire.
Created a duty through joint enterprise.
Khan and Khan
Ds sold heroin to 15 year old girl who took double the amount of an experienced user. Ds did not call for medical assistance. If the girl had medical assistance, she would not have died.
Duty of care through dangerous situation and joint enterprise
Evans
D bought heroin for her sister. V injected heroin but D supplied it so owed a duty of care.
Robinson
An elderly lady was knocked to the grouping during an attempt to arrest a drug dealer by police officers. V suffered personal injuries and made a claim against police officer.
A duty of care is established if it is believed to be reasonable.
