Duty of Care – Breach of Duty – Personal Injury Claim
Chris Brunt is a Gibraltar personal injury lawyer, a barrister and acting solicitor of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar who will consider all personal injury claims on a No Win No Fee basis. Contact me for a free consultation to see if I can help you win the compensation you are entitled to. Use the contact form here and I will get back to you to discuss your claim.
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Martin v Layfield [2023] 3 WLUK 407 is an English judgment but it is submitted reflects Gibraltar personal injury law. Here the court found a landowner who operated a fishing business was found negligent and liable for the personal injuries of a customer who had fallen off a ladder while cutting down a tree branch with a chainsaw on the site at the landowner’s request in exchange for the waiver of his fishing licence fees. It is important to note that judgment was given against the landowner as it was found among other things that he had not made any assessment of risk or provided any safe method of work or training.
The relevance of this judgment while not groundbreaking in itself on the law can be a timely reminder to commercial enterprises or employers to ensure that they comply with Gibraltar Health and Safety Regulations. as an employer owes a duty of care towards his employees and Gibraltar’s Management of Health and Safety Regulations sets this out.
Duty of Care – Breach of Duty
3. (1) “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.”
The Accident
The claimant claimed that the defendant landowner was liable for the personal injuries he suffered when he fell from a ladder on the defendant’s property.
The defendant owned land on which he operated a fishing business. The claimant was a customer of the defendant who paid an annual fee for a licence to access the property and fish on its lakes. The defendant had asked the claimant to undertake some work on his property from time to time. The landowner agreed to waive the fee for his licence if the claimant carried out certain works on his property with a work party.
The defendant asked the claimant to undertake general maintenance on his land. The claimant reportedly explained that he had no experience but was informed that none was necessary. Further, the defendant explained that would provide equipment and direction, and that other members of the work party assigned to maintenance tasks would be learning on the job also. The claimant agreed to participate.
The defendant met with the claimant and explained the tasks that needed to be completed. The defendant would from time to personally inspect the work or ask for photographs of it. He gave instructions to the defendant in person, by telephone, and through his employees. As time passed the tasks became more complicated and on the day of the accident the defendant called the claimant and asked him to remove a branch from a tree. When the claimant arrived at the site he found a chainsaw and a ladder at the tree.
The claimant claimed the ladder while another man held it at the base. While the claimant was using the chainsaw the branch detached from the tree and fell hitting the ladder causing the claimant to fall where he suffered significant injuries including a broken wrist, ribs and hip and a hernia. The court heard that the man holding the ladder explained that the defendant had asked him and some others to cut down the branch, but that they had refused because it was too high and too dangerous. The defendant had then called the claimant and asked him, and he agreed to do it.
As a result of his injuries, the claimant lost his job as a business manager for a refuse company and claimed that he could no longer undertake any heavy manual work. He earned a lower salary at his new job.
The claimant claimed that the defendant’s negligence included a failure to
assess risk
provide training,
provide a safe method of work
The defendant filed a defence in which he made certain denials and that there had been no agreement to form a work party, that licence fees had been waived for friends rather than in exchange for work, and that the defendant had only known that the claimant was on site after the accident had happened. The defendant did not attend the hearing and was not represented.
The Courts Decision
The court found in favour of the claimant. The defendant had not attended court to give his evidence so his defence could not be tested by cross-examination, and the court not could rely on it. The claimant’s evidence was unchallenged and there was no reason to reject it. There was photographic evidence of the work carried out on the defendant’s property as well as social media posts which showed that the defendant did rely on customers of his to maintain his property. The defendant’s account was not tested in court and did not stand scrutiny, that is, the claimant had decided to cut the branch down on his own initiative without instructions to do so.
The court found that the defendant had called the claimant, asked him to cut the branch down, provided the means to do so by supplying the chainsaw and a ladder, and had made no provision for the claimant’s health and safety. As such there was no valid defence to the claim as the defendant was operating a commercial enterprise and was aware that the claimant had no relevant experience. There had been no planning, training, risk assessment, or safe method of work. The defendant’s omissions amounted to negligence. There was no basis for finding the claimant responsible for contributory negligence.
Damages
The claimant’s expert medical evidence had gone unchallenged. He suffered ongoing pain and disability. His claim for £45,000 in respect of his hip injury was a suitable reflection of its seriousness. Further amounts of £20,000, £2,000, and £7,500 were appropriate for his wrist, rib, and hernia injuries respectively. Therefore a total of £74,500 was awarded in general damages for his pain suffering and loss of amenity. The court was also satisfied that the claimant’s unchallenged claim for financial loss of £413,187 in respect of his change in employment and pension circumstances and his medical treatment was fair and appropriate and there was no reason to disallow or reduce that part of his claim either.
Note that the claim was brought in negligence, in Gibraltar it is usual to bring such a claim against an employer as a breach of statutory duty as well as a concurrent claim in negligence.
If you have been involved in an accident that was not your fault I would be pleased to review your case with a free 30-minute consultation and where I would advise you on the merits and strengths of your claim. I look to offer all clients with good prospects of success full legal representation on a ‘No Win No Fee’ basis.
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Chris is a personal injury barrister and acting solicitor of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar who specialises in personal injury law and representing clients injured in accidents caused by someone else’s negligence. Chris considers all cases of personal injury cases on a no win no fee basis and offers clients a conditional fee agreement where he is able.
Contact Chris for a free 30-minute consultation at Phillips Barristers & Solicitors, 292 Main Street, Gibraltar, GX11 1AA, on 200 73900 to discuss your personal injury claim and to see how he can help you win the compensation you are entitled to
Disclaimer
All opinions are my own and are provided for information only and do not constitute legal advice. Please note that the information and any commentary on Gibraltar law contained in this article are provided free of charge for information purposes only. Every reasonable effort is made to make the information and commentary accurate and up to date, but I do not accept responsibility for its accuracy or for any consequences of relying on it. The information and commentary do not and are not intended to, amount to legal advice to any person on a specific case or matter. You are strongly advised to obtain specific, personal legal advice about your case or matter and not to rely on the information or comments on this site: Chris Brunt Barrister – Gibraltar Personal Injury Lawyer (personalinjurylawyergibraltar.com
