Andrew Kasongo v CRBE Limited & Anor
[2023] EWHC 1464 (KB)
Sean Drummond v Keolis Amey Docklands Ltd
17 April 2023
[2023] EWHC 853 (KB)
High Court
A man was seriously hurt after trespassing on train tracks. He sued the train company, but the judge decided he probably went around a gate instead of opening it, so the case was dropped.
Key Facts
- •Sean Drummond (Claimant) was injured after trespassing onto DLR tracks at Canary Wharf station on 23 March 2019.
- •He was struck by a train and sustained catastrophic head injuries.
- •Claimant sued Keolis Amey Docklands Ltd (Defendant), the DLR operator, for breach of duty under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 and/or negligence.
- •The claim initially lacked clarity on how the claimant accessed the tracks.
- •The claimant sought to amend his Particulars of Claim to allege failure to lock and alarm the gate.
- •A preliminary issue was determined regarding whether the claimant opened the gate or sidestepped it.
- •The court viewed CCTV footage and expert reconstructions.
- •The claim was ultimately discontinued with no order for costs.
Legal Principles
Occupiers' Liability Act 1984
Occupiers' Liability Act 1984
Negligence
Common law
Outcomes
The court found that the claimant likely sidestepped the gate, not opened it.
Based on CCTV footage analysis, claimant's actions before approaching the gate, and the unlikelihood of a sober and aware individual opening a supposedly alarmed gate. Reconstructions were deemed of limited value.
The claimant's application to amend the Particulars of Claim was rendered moot.
The proposed amendments were causally relevant only if the claimant opened the gate, which the court did not find.
The claim was discontinued with no order for costs.
No other viable allegations against the defendant remained, and the claim against the train's PSA was unlikely to succeed.
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