OLA Cases

Question 1

Wheat v Lincoln

Answer 1

manager of the pub rented the rooms above, a paying guest fell
on unlit staircase and died. Held they were both the occupiers

Question 2

Harris v Birkenhead

Answer 2

a 4-year-old was invited in an abandoned house. The
council had just bought it but not boarded it up yet. Held they were occupiers as they
controlled the land

Question 3

Laverton v takeaway supreme

Answer 3

owned a small takeaway and fitted slip resistant tiles
and moped excess water when they could. C walked into the shop after it had rained
and broke their ankle. Held by the c of a that they had taken reasonable care to ensure
safety

Question 4

Rochester cathedral v dabell

Answer 4

c visited a cathedral and tripped
over aa 2-inch bollard that was petruding. Held tripping was an everyday occurrence
and there was no real source of danger

Question 5

Cole v British legion

Answer 5

• fell over a hole in the grass
  made by a dance pole which was covered and eroded over time. Held by the c of the
  British legion did not need to check on the hole

Question 6

Glasgow v Taylor

Answer 6

7-year-old ate poisonous berries in a public park and
died. They were not fenced off in any way. Held the council were aware of the danger
and amounted to an allurement

Question 7

Phipps

Answer 7

a 5-year-old child was playing on an open ground owned by the council; they
fell down the hole and got injured. Held the court decided that the parents were to keep
control of young children

Question 8

Jolley

Answer 8

14-year-olds were playing on an abandoned boat and were trying to repair r and
got injured. Held the council were liable as it could be foreseen people would play on
the broken boat and be injured by it

Question 9

Roles v Nathan

Answer 9

2 chimney sweepers died after inhaling carbon monoxide fumes. Held
the occupier was not liable as they should be expected to be aware of the danger

Question 10

Hazeldine v daw and son

Answer 10

c was killed when a lift shaft plunged to the bottom the shaft.
Held the maintenance of the lift required a specialist

Question 11

Bottomly v cricket club

Answer 11

cricket club hire a stunt team to do a firework
display using non-traditional fireworks and included a member of the public in the stunt
who got injured and they had no insurance. Held they were both liable as they didn’t
choose a competent contractor

Question 12

Woodward v mayor of Hastings

Answer 12

a child was left injured on school steps that were
de-iced and not checked properly by the occupiers. Held they were liable to check the
work

Question 13

Rea v Mars

Answer 13

• the claimant sustained an injury falling down a 3-foot hole on entering an
  unlit storge room. Held when the danger is extreme or unusual an additional notice
  should be in place

Question 14

Staples v west Dorset council

Answer 14

c fractured hip when he slipped and fell of a 20-
foot seawall with seaweed on it. There was no sign to tell them not to walk on it. Held
that there was no duty to warn if the danger was obvious

Question 15

Addie v dunbreck

Answer 15

child was injured when he fell through the floor of an abandoned
house. Held that the parents had the duty of care not the occupier

Question 16

British railway board v Herrington

Answer 16

child ran through a fence onto a railway track and got injured. Held
there was now more ‘dangers’ in society so occupiers should keep trespassers
reasonably safe

Question 17

Ratcliffe v McConel

Answer 17

• a 19-year-old student climbed the fence of his open-air
  swimming pool at night, dived into it and hit his head on the bottom. Held that the
  occupier did not have to warn the trespassers of obvious danger

Question 18

Donoghue v Folkestone property

Answer 18

• claimant was injured when trespassing on a slipway
  on a harbour, dived into a metal chain and got injured. The chain would have been
  visible in the summer due to the low tide. Held that the occupier did not owe a duty as
  you would not expect a trespasser at that time of the year

Question 19

Tomlinson v congalton council

Answer 19

claimant jumped into a lake and was
paralysed. Held that for obvious dangers a high cost to protect against it is not expected

Question 20

Higgs v foster

Answer 20

undercover police officer was carrying out surveillance and was injured,
judged to be a trespasser. Held that the occupier could not have anticipated the
presence of the officer

Question 21

Rhind v astbury waterpark

Answer 21

he occupier did not know of submerged fibreglass
container the claimant ignored a ‘no swimming’ sign and jumped in causing injuries.
Held the occupier did not owe a duty as he was not aware of the danger

Question 22

Keown

Answer 22

t- 11-year-old climbed on the fire escape on the
exterior of a hospital to show off and fell. Held the child appreciated the danger and
wasn’t the hospital’s fault

Question 23

Baldachinno v west wittering

Answer 23

summers day saw a beacon at a beach and dived off it
injuring his neck. He was lawful until he went on the beacon. Held there was no duty to
protect against obvious danger