The court considered whether a duty of care was non-delegable. Langton J said: ‘while in general a person who employs a contractor is not liable for the acts of the contractor, yet where instruments or materials which are in themselves dangerous are being used, the principal has not merely a duty to take care but also a duty to provide that care is taken; that in failing to test the after cofferdam to ensure that it was gas free, even if this failure was due to the negligence of the consulting engineer and not to the personal negligence of the defendants or their servants, the defendants were failing in a duty the responsibility for which they could not delegate to a contractor, and that they were liable to the plaintiffs for the damage.’
Judges:
Langton J
Citations:
[1942] P 112
Cited by:
Cited – Woodland v Essex County Council CA 9-Mar-2012
The claimant had been injured in a swimming pool during a lesson. The lesson was conducted by outside independent contractors. The claimant appealed against a finding that his argument that they had a non-delegable duty of care was bound to fail. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Negligence
Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.451845