John E Griggs & Sons Limited v High Firs Penthouses Limited
[2023] EWHC 2231 (TCC)
Après Lounge Limited v Nicolle Wade
16 February 2023
[2023] EWHC 190 (KB)
High Court
A woman slipped in a bar and sued. The bar had staff checking for spills regularly. The judge said that wasn't enough, but the higher court disagreed, saying the bar did enough to be safe.
Key Facts
- •Claimant slipped on a spilt drink at the Defendant's bar.
- •The incident occurred on the ground floor of a busy bar.
- •The Defendant had a system for staff to check for spillages every 10-15 minutes.
- •There was no CCTV footage of the incident.
- •The Claimant suffered a fractured metatarsal.
- •The case was brought in negligence and under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957.
Legal Principles
Occupiers' Liability Act 1957: An occupier owes a common duty of care to take reasonable care to see that a visitor will be reasonably safe.
Occupiers' Liability Act 1957, Section 2(2)
In slip and fall cases, the claimant must establish a prima facie case of negligence, and the defendant can rebut this by showing they took reasonable care.
Dawkins v Carnival Plc [2011] EWCA Civ 1237, Ward v Tesco Stores Limited [1976] 1 WLR 810, Turner v Arding & Hobbs Ltd [1949] 2 All ER 911
Reasonableness depends on balancing likelihood of injury, seriousness of injury, social value of activity, and cost of preventative measures.
Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council [2004] 1 AC 46
Outcomes
Appeal allowed; judgment for the Defendant.
The judge erred by imposing too high a standard of care. The Defendant's system of continuous monitoring, with every area checked at least every 10-15 minutes, was reasonable in the circumstances.