References: [1981] QB 137, [1980] 3 All ER 870
Coram: Ewbank J
Ratio: The plaintiff sought damages after being injured as a passenger in a car. He and the driver had both just been involved in a burglary, and the driver, who had taken alcohol was attempting to escape. The driver was driving very dangerously in order to avoid their arrest after two taxi drivers had tried to block the car.
Held: The claim failed. As a matter of public policy the law would not recognise a duty of care owed by one participant in a crime to another: ‘a duty of care did not exist between the first defendant and the plaintiff during the course of the burglary and during the course of the subsequent flight in the get-away car.’
He held in the alternative that, even if a duty of care was owed, the Claimant had willingly accepted as his the risk of negligence and injury resulting from it.
Statutes: Road Traffic Act 1972 148(3)
Jurisdiction: England and Wales
This case is cited by:
- Cited – Marshall v Osmond CA ([1983] 2 All ER 367, [1983] 1 QB 1034, [1983] 3 WLR 13)
The plaintiff was passenger in a stolen car seeking to escape the police as they chased. The car was stopped, the plaintiff got out of the car, and was hit by a police car. He sought damages.
Held: His appeal against dismissal of his claim was . . - Distinguished – Kirkham v Anderton, The Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester police CA ([1989] 2 QB 283, [1990] 3 All ER 246, Bailii, [1989] EWCA Civ 3)
The claimant’s husband hanged himself in Risley Remand Centre after the police had failed to warn the prison authorities that he was (as the police knew) a suicide risk. He was suffering from clinical depression and had previously attempted suicide . . - Dictum Disapproved – Pitts v The Personal Representatives of Mark James Hunt (Deceased) and Another CA ([1991] 1 QB 24, [1990] 3 All ER 344, Bailii, [1990] EWCA Civ 17)
The plaintiff and a friend had spent the evening drinking at a disco before setting off on the friend’s motorcycle. The plaintiff was aware that the motorcyclist was neither licensed to ride a motorcycle nor insured. During the journey, the . .
(This list may be incomplete)
Last Update: 08 March 2019
Ref: 188781
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