Occupiers Liability Acts 1957 and 1984

Question 1

Who is the occupier under s.1(2)?

Answer 1

D is the occupier as she has control over the premises s.1.2 wheat v lacon

Question 2

what did wheat v lacon establish on what is an occupier?

Answer 2

The court held you could have more than one occupier. the key issue is control.

Question 3

what are the facts in wheat v lacon?

Answer 3

The claimant and her family stayed at a public house, The Golfer’s Arms in Great Yarmouth, for a holiday. Unfortunately her husband died when he fell down the stairs and hit his head. The stairs were steep and narrow. The handrail stopped two steps from the bottom of the stairs and there was no bulb in the light. The claimant brought an action under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 against the Brewery company, Lacon, which owned the freehold of The Golfer’s Arms and against the Managers of the Pub, Mr & Mrs Richardson, who occupied the pub as a licensee.

Question 4

what did harris v birkenhead establish udder s.1(2)?

Answer 4

the council were in control, even though they were not in physical occupation, as they had served a compulsory purchase notice.

Question 5

what are the facts in harris v birkenhead?

Answer 5

Harris was an infant plaintiff who brought an action against Birkenhead Corporation for damages for the personal injury she had suffered as a four-and-a-half year-old when she fell out of a second floor window and suffered serious injuries. The property was in a clearance area and the corporation, by way of process, usually brick up the ground floor access areas to prevent it being from vandals after they have served notice on the tenant and it is vacant. In this case, they had served notice on the tenants and one of whom left without informing the local authority

Question 6

who is the lawful visitor under s.1(2)

Answer 6

A visitor includes someone with express permission or implied permission, those with a legal right of entry and those with contractual rights

Question 7

what is the exception in who is a lawful visitor?

Answer 7

no duty is owed if the visitor is not carrying out the activities authorised within the terms of the vist?

Question 8

what happened in Lowerey v walker?

Answer 8

d knew c was taking a short cut across his land but did nothing to stop him. this meant c was a lawful visitor as he had implied permission to enter the premises.

Question 9

what did lord scrutton say about that exception?

Answer 9

“when you invite person into your house to use the stairs you do not invite them to slide down the bannister”

Question 10

what are thre premsises under s.1(3)?

Answer 10

premisises includes ay fixed or moveable structure including a vessel, vehicle or aircraft

Question 11

what did wheeler v copas establish?

Answer 11

‘premises’ includes a ladder

Question 12

what did haseldine v daw establish?

Answer 12

‘premises’ includes a lift

Question 13

For what damage is the duty?

Answer 13

the occupiers duty is in respect of damage caused by the state of the premises

Question 14

what happened in ogwu v taylor?

Answer 14

the fire did not result from the ‘state of the premises’ but the careless use of a blowlamp

Question 15

overall, what do you need to establish to have a duty under the OLA 1957?

Answer 15

1) an occupier
2) a lawful visitor
3)premises
4)damage caused by the state of the premises

Question 16

what is the duty under s.2(2)?

Answer 16

D must take reasonable care to see that visitors will be reasonably safe using the premises for the purposes of their visit.

Question 17

what is this also called?

Answer 17

the ‘common duty of care’

Question 18

what was established in laverton v kiapasha takeaway?

Answer 18

you do not have to make the premises completely safe

Question 19

what is the duty owed to children?

Answer 19

under s.293)(a) an occupier must be prepraed for children to be less careful than adults and so owes them a higher duty of care.

Question 20

what was there liability for in molonety v lambeth?

Answer 20

the gaps in bannisters

Question 21

what was there liability for in glasglow cooperation v taylor?

Answer 21

the berries in the park

Question 22

why wasnt the occupier liable in phipps v rochestrr cooperation?

Answer 22

as the parents of the 5 year old child failed to exercise proper control over the child.

Question 23

what is the duty owed to experts?

Answer 23

under s.2(3)(b) an occupier may expect an expert to appreciate and guard against any special risks ordinarily incident to his job (roles v nathan)

Question 24

what does that mean?

Answer 24

that an occupier owes experts who are hurt on their premises a lower duty of care.

Question 25

what was the fact of roles v nathan?

Answer 25

there was no liability as the chimney sweepers should have been aware of the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Question 26

what standard of care is expected of the occupier?

Answer 26

the occupier must reach the standard of the reasonable occupier. is harm like haley v leb ancd could it have been serious paris v stepney?

Question 27

next, for there to be a breach what do you have to consider?

Answer 27

whether the duty may have been discharged under s.2(4)(a) or (b) warnings or blaming an independent contractor

Question 28

what kind of warnings must be issued by an occupier?

Answer 28

under s.2(4)(a) an occupier may avoid liability if they have given a warning that is "enough to enable the visitor to be reasonably safe" rae v mars.

Question 29

what was the warning in rae v mars?

Answer 29

it was not suffincient as it was inside the entrance to the pit in the dark

Question 30

what is the case on obvious dangers?

Answer 30

you do not need to give warning about obvious dangers such as cliffs (cotton v derbyshire dales)

Question 31

what is the law on duty of care towards independnet contractors?

Answer 31

under s.2(4)(b) the occupier may avoid liability where the injuries are the fault of an independent contractor

Question 32

under what case was it reasonable to hire an independet contractor?

Answer 32

in haseldine v daw it was held to be reasonable to hire a lift contractor as it was specialist work

Question 33

what stpes must the occupier take to make sure the contractor is competent?

Answer 33

reasonable steps. in bottomley v todmorden cc this was not the case as the occupier had not checked that the contractor had insurance.

Question 34

what steps should the occupier take to make sure the work is done properly?

Answer 34

reasonable steps. this means covering obvious risks. in woodward v the mayor of hastings the occupiers were liable for steps that were left icy after snow was cleared by contractors as it was an obvious risk.

Question 35

in a scenrio, when should i deal with causation?

Answer 35

if a specific issue, such as the think skull rule (smith v leach brain)

Question 36

what do i do in a scenrio if there is contributory negligence?

Answer 36

if c is partly to blame, his dmaages may be reduced under the law reform act (sayer v harlow)

Question 37

what happens if c knew of risk in a scenario?

Answer 37

the defence of volenti applies, simms v leigh rugby football club)