Occupier’s Liability Flashcards
What two acts deal with occupiers’ liability?
The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 deals with lawful visitors
The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 deals with trespassers
Which cases define ‘occupier’, as there is no statutory definition on it?
Wheat 1966
Harris 1976
Besides the obvious (e.g. houses, offices) ‘premises’ also includes…
A ship in a dry dock
A vehicle
A lift and even
A ladder
Lawful adult visitors include…
invitees
licencees
Those with contractual permission
Those given a statutory right of entry (e.g. police with a warrant)
What is ther responsibility of the occupier with lawful visitors?
to make sure that the visitor is safe to at least a reasonable level (Laverton 2002) and (Dean and Chapter of Rochester Cathedral 2016)
What duty does the occupier have with child visitors?
s 2(3) of the 1957 Act says that ‘the occupier must be prepared for children to be less careful than adults [and as a result] the premises must be reasonably safe for a child of that age’
The occupier should guard against any kind of allurement which places a child at risk of harm (e.g. Glasgow Corporation v Taylor 1922)
Where very young children are injured, the court is reluctant to find the occupier liable as the child should be under the supervision of an adult (Phipps v Rochester 1955)
If an allurement exists, there will be no liability on the occupier if the damage or injury was NOT reasonably foreseeable
What duty does the occupier have to people carrying out a trade or calling?
If a tradesman is working on the property then the occupier will owe them a duty of care
If the tradesman does not protect himself from any special risks related to their trade, then the occupier may not be liable (Roles v Nathan 1963)
What duty does the occupier have for the torts of independent contractors? (3 requirements)
If a lawful visitor is injured by a workman’s negligent work, then there is a case where the occupier may be able to pass the defence onto them.
s 2(4) of 1957 Act has 3 requirements for this:
- The work of the contractor must be something the occupier couldn’t do himself (Haseldine 1941)
- The contractor should be competent to carry out the task, so the occupier should’ve done background checks (Bottomley 2003)
- The occupier must check that the work has been properly done (Woodward 1945)
What defences are there for Occupiers’ Liability?
Contributory Negligence - same as in negligence “partly responsible”
Consent - same as in negligence … full defence
Warning Notices - warning of risk should be enough to enable the visitor to be reasonably safe (Rae v Marrs). HOWEVER, if the danger is obvious then an additional warning isn’t necessary (Staples’ case)
Exclusion clauses - where the occupier excludes their duty completely by a way of warning, but this must be made very clear on a sign (these don’t work with children as they wouldn’t understand)
For trespassers, duty is owed if:
s 1(3) and s 1(4)
- the occupier is aware of the danger or has reasonable grounds to believe it exists
- they are aware that others may come in the vicinity of the danger
- the risk is one against which, in the circumstances of the case, they may be expected to offer some protection
The duty owed is to take such care as is reasonable in the circumstances to see that the trespasser is not injured by reason of the danger
What are the factors affecting liability to trespassers?
- Time of day and year (Donoghue v Folkestone)
- Adults don’t need to be warned against obvious dangers (Ratcliff)
- Occupiers are not expected to spend lots of money risk-proofing the premises from obvious dangers (Tomlinson)
- If the occupier is unaware of the danger, they are not liable (Rhind)
- The occupier will not owe a duty to a trespasser he doesn’t expect to enter the premises (Higgs)
Child and Adult trespassers are covered by the same statutory rules (Keown 2006 and Baldaccino 2008)
After y 12 exams also makew flashcards on the evaluatiopn of both Occupiers liablility and negligence…
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