Robertson v RB Cowe and Co: 1970

A trestle erected on a marine slipway moved causing a workman to fall.
Held: Lord Guthrie concluded ‘from the whole circumstances elicited . . as to the position of the staging, the way in which the pursuer worked, the outward movement of the trestle, and where the pursuer fell’ that ‘on a balance of probabilities . . the erection was insecure and unsafe’. Lord Migdale treated the fact that the trestle fell over as proof that it was not safe, and both he and, with hesitation, Lord President Clyde concluded that the decision in Nimmo meant that breach of section 29(1) was established once it was proved that the trestle was not sufficiently stable to support a workman doing his job there normally.

Judges:

Lord Migdale, Lord Guthrie, Lord President Clyde

Citations:

1970 SLT 122

Cited by:

CitedBaker v Quantum Clothing Group Ltd and Others SC 13-Apr-2011
The court was asked as to the liability of employers in the knitting industry for hearing losses suffered by employees before the 1989 Regulations came into effect. The claimant had worked in a factory between 1971 and 2001, sustaining noise induced . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Scotland, Health and Safety

Updated: 11 May 2022; Ref: scu.440436