The deceased stepped onto the road just behind a taxi cab which was stationary or just drawing up. He neither saw nor heard an approaching number bus and walked directly into its path. He suffered a fractured skull. There was evidence that his mental processes became grossly abnormal. Some sixteen months after the accident he committed suicide.
Held: The court was satisfied that ‘an irrational state of mind arising from his head injuries was a cause, if not the main cause, of his suicide.’ The judge ‘would, if necessary, hold that the plaintiff (the widow of the deceased) had discharged the burden of causation upon her and that the financial worry did not amount to a novus actus. But if, looked at independently of its origins it would amount to a novus actus, he was satisfied that the deceased’s financial position in January, 1955, could be traced back to the accident.’
Devlin J
Times 23-Oct-1956
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd CA 31-Mar-2006
corr_ibcCA2006
The deceased had suffered a head injury whilst working for the defendant. In addition to severe physical consequences he suffered post-traumatic stress, became more and more depressed, and then committed suicide six years later. The claimant . .
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Updated: 19 July 2021; Ref: scu.240039