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Paris v Stepney Borough Council [1951] AC 367

By Oxbridge Law TeamUpdated 04/01/2024 07:04

Judgement for the case Paris v Stepney Borough Council

Table Of Contents

  • Plaintiff, car mechanic, was blind in one eye. He wasn’t wearing goggles and when working on a car a piece of metal flew off and damaged his other eye.

  • He sued his employer for not providing him with goggles.

  • HL said that even where a disability doesn’t make risk of injury more likely, the fact that it may make the resulting injury more serious is a factor in determining whether the employer should have taken precautions and was negligent.

  • In this case, the potential seriousness of the injury, despite relative improbability, meant that Defendant should have taken precautions, i.e. given Plaintiff goggles.

  • NB the minority approved the reasoning but denied that there was sufficient foreseeability in this case to establish negligence, even if the potential injury was severe.

Lord Norman

What precautions would the ordinary, reasonable and prudent man take?

  • This is a function not only of how great is the probability but also of potential seriousness injury.

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