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Summary - Tort law Occupiers Liability (LAW5001)
- Institution
- Queen Mary, University Of London (QMUL)
In depth tort law notes on occupiers liability only. With well written tutorail answers.
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Tort law tutorial Occupiers LiabilityUtterly Useless Ltd was a human resource firm and known for throwing lavish(musruf) staff
parties. A proposal was made to devote their limited resources to repairing the regular
problem of flooding in the foyer(bekleme odasi) of their offices, rather than spending a vast
sum on the end-of-year party. However, the overwhelming consensus of management was
that the party should go ahead. ‘I’m sure that our employees would much rather have a great
night out rather than a dry foyer,’, the Chief Executive remarked.
It was decided to hold the party on a large boat on the Thames. The party would be open
only to company staff. Utterly Useless Ltd hired the boat from Great Times Ltd.
At 5.00 pm on the night of the party, it had been raining heavily outside and, as usual, the
foyer had developed a small area of flooding. Towels had been put down to sop up the
water, but a small area near the lift had been missed. Ryan, an electrician, was running late
for his appointment to check whether some wiring in the foyer was dangerously exposed to
the wet surface areas, and by the time he arrived, it was dark inside the foyer, the
employees having left for their party. Upon walking across the foyer to the lift, Ryan slipped
on the pooled water and crashed to the floor, suffering a serious head knock.
At the party itself, the entertainment and dancing were in full swing, the buffet was lavish,
and the drinks were flowing. Mary, a stenographer employed by Utterly Useless, went up
onto the upper deck in order to get some fresh air, but slipped on a stray rope which had
been left on the deck and had not been picked up by Cleaners plc, who were engaged by
Great Times Ltd to clean the boat prior to the party. Mary broke her ankle. She was later
diagnosed with a rare and inherited calcium deficiency which meant that her recovery from
the injury was slower and much more painful and disabling than it would otherwise have
been.
Kelly, another employee, had secretly brought a friend, Leanne, with her to the party. No-
one, at any stage, challenged Leanne’s right to be there. At 9.00 pm, Leanne tried to find her
way to the bathroom, but got lost in the dark and narrow corridors of the boat. In the process,
she bumped into a table laden with sound equipment, and fell to the deck. She suffered a
broken wrist, and her expensive smartphone fell from her grasp and slid overboard.
Advise Ryan, Mary and Leanne.
Framework:
- Ryan -
- In the scenario above, it is given that Utterly useless ltd is a human resource
firm which has been suggested to devote their resources in an attempt to
restore the foyer area of the company.
- It is provided that; the company chief executive is throwing wasteful parties
which indeed does not provide any efficiency and effectiveness for the
operation of the business which can be demonstrated by the fact that the chief
executive has refuted the suggestion to recover the flooding within the area
and instead continue partying ! ‘I’m sure that our employees would much rather
have a great night out rather than a dry foyer,’, the Chief Executive remarked.’
, - At 5.00 pm on the night of the party, it had been raining heavily outside and, as
usual, the foyer had developed a small area of flooding. Towels had been put down
to sop up the water, but a small area near the lift had been missed. Ryan, an
electrician, was running late for his appointment to check whether some wiring in the
foyer was dangerously exposed to the wet surface areas, and by the time he arrived,
it was dark inside the foyer, the employees having left for their party. Upon walking
across the foyer to the lift, Ryan slipped on the pooled water and crashed to the floor,
suffering a serious head knock
- In this scenario it is seen that the issue Is whether the occupier of the office
has liability towards the damages that has been sustained by Ryan following
the decision not to recover the foyer and resulting his damage as he has
slipped over the floor and suffered serious head knock. In such scenarios, first
it is important to look at whether which statue applies or if there is any
situation which renders the available statues inapplicable for the recovery of
the damage following the incidence.
- Which statues are available for the occupiers Liability?
OLA 1957, where the occupier has the common duty of care to take
reasonable steps as to ensure that the lawful visitor is safe while using the
premises for which he or she is permitted
OLA 1984, where the occupier has duty of care owed to the trespasser
where he or she knew or has reasonable grounds to know that the
trespassers is in danger? Vicinity of the premises or reasonably offer some
protection?
- In this case, it is given that Ryan, electrician, has the responsibility and
role of conducting appointments to ensure that there would be no
damage due to flooding of the small area of the foyer following severe
rain. Therefore, it can be shown that Ryan is a lawful visitor and can
seek to the principles enshrined under OLA 1957 to determine whether
there was liability and any potential of recoverability of the damages
sustained?
Is the statue not applicable?
- Exercising the public right of way which is governed by the general principles
of the negligence and highways act 1980
- Exercising the right to roam which is governed by the right to way act 2000
and countryside act 1949
- Whether the person Is a passer-by, sustained damages due to the activities
flowing from the premisses concerned per Gabriel.
- Human variant?
None is seen, so the statue can be successfully applied within the scenario!
Preconditions for the act to apply
D must be an occupier
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