Having heard the scream the father (claimant) rushed into the spot and found his son with his foot trapped by the cars wheel. However , he was failed to meet the criteria of immediate aftermath of the disaster. When the defendant started backing his car out, Keith Keel began to give directions to the defendant from behind the car in order to prevent any collision with the pillar or any other cars. 5th Oct 2021 Only full case reports are accepted in court. In order to support this argument, the claimant relied on the decision of the case in In re Polemis and Furness, withy & Co. Ltd[47]. If you are the original writer of this dissertation and no longer wish to have your work published on the UKDiss.com website then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. The class of potential claimants is restricted among the secondary victims, especially for those who have close relationships with the primary victims. It was held by the court that (according to the decision of Bourhill case), the defendant owes no liability towards the claimant although there was a liability in relation to the accident of the boy. If the claimant was a rescuer who went to the aid of others involved in an accident, they will only be defined as a primary victim if they were, or reasonably believed themselves to be, in danger. In this chapter, I argue that Alcock was an essentially conservative decision, rather than the reactionary one which it is often assumed to have been . . HL dismissed their claims since they were suffering extreme grief, not a psychiatric illness. He further considered that, such a proximity relationship or close tie of love and affection might exist between the family members or friends. Acting for the Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police on the Hillsborough litigation in relation to the Inquests, Alcock (family PTSD claims) and Frost/White (police PTSD claims); Court of Appeal win in Webster v Ellison Circlips on automatic strike out. However, as far as their claim for psychiatric illness was concerned, the court was neither convinced with the surrounding facts and circumstances that there was sufficient close tie of love and affection with the claimants and the primary victim nor was convinced that the psychiatric illness that they had sustained was reasonably foreseeable by the defendant in accordance with the recovery criteria for psychiatric illness established in the leading case of Alcock. Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1991] UKHL 5, [1992] 1 AC 310 is a leading English tort law case on liability for nervous shock (psychiatric injury). The boy screamed loud enough and tried to take his foot out the cars wheel by kicking the car with the other foot. 2819 Words. While backing his car out of the garage, the defendant ran over the feet of the little boy which caused him injuries. Different kinds of harm The horrific events of 15 April 1989 at the . Frost v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1999] 2 AC 455 at 500. . Eventually, at about midnight, having gone to the mortuary he managed to identify the bruising dead body of his brother in law. One of the children had died due to sustaining severe physical injuries almost immediately. 3 Frost v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1997] 3 WLR 1194. was reluctant to interfere with the findings of the court and agreed with the decision given by McNair J. I conclude by wholeheartedly agreeing with Lord Steyns statement that The Law on the recovery of compensation for pure psychiatric harm is a patchwork quilt of distinctions which are difficult to justify and I feel, the cases discussed in this essay clearly support my viewpoint. *You can also browse our support articles here >. White v Chief Constable of the Yorkshire Police [1998] 3 WLR 1509. . Note White was known as Frost v. Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police in the Court of Appeal] LORD GOFF My Lords, These appeals arise from further proceedings following the tragic events which occurred at the Hillsborough Football Stadium in Sheffield on 15 April 1989, when 95 spectators died and hundreds more were injured, one fatally, as . .Cited Salter v UB Frozen Chilled Foods OHCS 25-Jul-2003 The pursuer was involved in an accident at work, where his co-worker died. However, they did not fulfill a number of criteria (Wilberforce test as in previous case). As far as the claims for psychiatric illness is concerned, it was the case of Hambrook v Stokes Bros[16], where the English courts for the first time recognized a claim for psychiatric illness by the secondary victims. complexities encountered by the court in Frost in applying the principles laid down by Alcock v Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police14 and Page v Smith15 are also highlighted. According to the facts of this case, the claimants (Robertson and Rough) and the primary victim (George Smith) used to work together with the defendants (Forth Road Bridge Board). . The recent case of Crystal Taylor v A Novo (UK) Ltd CA (2013) re-examined the particular issue of proximity, together with the underlying policy considerations. [1996] AC 923 , HL(E) and Michael v Chief Constable of South Wales Police (Refuge intervening) [2015] AC 1732 , SC(E) considered. the purpose test (Banque Bruxelles Lambert SA v Eagle Star Insurance Co Ltd); the assumption . Many of the 1.3 million residents of South Yorkshire have had enough. Held: The claim failed: these claimants have no . Sixteen separate actions were brought against him by persons none of whom was present in the area where the disaster occurred, although four of them were elsewhere in the ground. They could only recover if they were exposed to physical danger as primary victims. [50] As per McNair J. White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [1998] 3 WLR 1509 House of Lords. All of them were connected in various ways . Take a look at some weird laws from around the world! Frost v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1997] 3 WLR 1194. As a result of experiencing such a dreadful event she subsequently suffered severe nervous shock resulting in the form of psychatric illness. Top Tier Firm Rankings. The victims were taken to the nearest hospital by that neighbour. Since they were not endangered in the discharge of their service or in rescuing, as employees and/or rescuers, the police officers were only secondary victims. In England, the Dulieu v White and Sons [1901]2 KB 66 9 case was a landmark case in terms of the recovery of claims for psychiatric illnesses. >> Ninety six Liverpool fans were killed and many more seriously injured in a massive crush during the FA Cup Semi Final at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield . The injuries were psychiatric, being suffered when they witnessed a crash from the ground. Lord Morton of Henryton: it has never been the law of England that an invitor, who has negligently but unintentionally injured an invitee, is liable to compensate other persons who . The defendants admitted their negligence but also argued that the nervous shock suffered by the mother was too remote. Held: The general rules restricting the recovery of damages for pure psychiatric harm applied to the . Recovery, on the other hand, for a secondary victim is differentiated and is much more restricted. However, during the journey, a very strong wind thrown the metal sheet and Smith away while he was sitting on top of it. It was the case of King v Phillips[44] in which the claimant having suffered psychiatric illness failed to establish a claim against the defendant as the court considered that the victim was far away from the accident. The father immediately started helping his son to release his trapped foot out. His widow claimed in nervous shock, saying that it had eventually led to his own death. No damages for Psychiatric Harm Alone. The new chief constable of South Yorkshire Police has shared her "incredible pride" at leading the force. In the present case, despite of being present at the stadium during the football match the claimants whose action had been rejected by the House of Lords are as follows[25]: Brian Harrison was one of the appellants. Despite of establishing a close tie of love where the secondary victims fails to satisfy the requirement of proximity in time and place with the accident, the court will not entilte them to recover damages for psychiatric illness. Essays, case summaries, problem questions and dissertations here are relevant to law students from the United Kingdom and Great Britain, as well as students wishing to learn more about the UK legal system from overseas. /Length 13 0 R Lord Wilberforce argued that it was necessary to develop further criteria including strict proximity in time, a close relationship, direct means of communication (personal witness). So according to Keiths directions the defenadant was backing his car out and paying attention to him. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. 4 policeman (Ps) sued R (chief officer responsible at Hillsborough) for causing them nervous shock through his negligence in allowing the accident to occur. His Lordship further continued that, the present case is distinguishable from the case of King v Phillips[61]. [14] Secondary Victims and Nervous Shock by M Dunne (2000) BR 383. The above judgment in White v The Chief Constable allowed the defendants' appeal against the 1997 Court of Appeal decision in Frost & Ors. The claimant appealed to the House of Lords against the decision given by McNair J. Singleton LJ. In the present case, the claimants family members including her husband and three children had a severe road accident. The carriageway was too high that any person fell from that distance would unlikely to survive. Appeal from - White, Frost and others v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire and others HL 3-Dec-1998. Section A The codification of directors duties was an unnecessary step. N>7>@s!z9@-w9Hy^O1? M:fXxKGkYqLfX A Ai>|N_*HbOsu.7B ovRl-#GQcLXH`{70l191X?@j`P02:vKX @9E. The court held that the defendant was liable for negligence and allowed the claimant to recover damages for psychaitric illness as the mental injury to the claimant was reasonably foreseeable by the defendant[65]. Mentioned Walker v Northumberland County Council QBD 16-Nov-1994 The plaintiff was a manager within the social services department. View history. . . The House of Lords (by a majority) in Page v Smith, enhanced the recovery of the primary victim over the secondary victim. foreseeability of psychiatric shock needed to be considered. At the time of the accident, the claimant was at home that was two miles away from the place of the accident. The police failed to control crowed at the match. This was a test case . YMzBCCCBS$Gtds]1w6F[:s\mPq%`:CGqt`*SzTAER3 baP0/XlX>,eoWf0`X }@| D C brought an action in negligence (and/or breach of statutory duty) against their employer, the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police (D), for the psychiatric harm they had suffered as a result of witnessing the tragedy first-hand. . The relationship between the claimants and the deceased was described by the court as- Robertson was a person of fifty six years old who had known Smith for ages. This took place while Robertson was driving the van on a carriageway which was high above the water. Disclaimer: This essay has been written by a law student and not by our expert law writers. The second solution is to abolish all the special limiting rules applicable to psychiatric harm. Mental Health can have a positive or negative impact on our behaviour, decision-making, and actions, as well as our general health and well-being. . Firstly the court held that despite the fact that the plaintiff was approximately two miles away from the incident and did not arrive at the hospital until one hour after the incident; the scene at the hospital (all victims were still covered in mud and oil) was such to render her proximate to the accident. Another appellant, namely Mr. Robert Alcock, was present in the stadium and lost his brother in law but still failed in his action as it was not reasonably foreseeable by the defendants that he would suffer psychiatric illness. << The facts of this case are as follows, the plaintiff, Mr. [24] Cases and Commentary on Tort, by Barbara Harvey & John Marston, 5th Edition. [51] took the view that, if the two cases of Hambrook v Stokes Bros[52] and In re Polemis and Furness, withy & Co. Ltd[53]on which the claimant relied on are considered then the there is every possibility that the decision goes in favour of the claimant. The defendants resisted saying that the injury alleged, the development of pleural plaques, was yet insufficient as damage to found a claim. It is of paramount importance that the law enforcement At common law a distinction is drawn between what is merely the ordinary emotion of grief, anxiety, fear and transient shock which does not constitute sufficient damage and the recognisable psychiatric illness that is established by expert medical evidence. The plaintiff must show that the defendant owed duty of care not to cause the reasonably foreseeable nervous shock. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: UK law covers the laws and legislation of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Hopes had been pinned on the decision of the House of Lords in Frost v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1998] 3 WLR 1509, but by and large Frost is a disap- pointment. Both the judgements given by Stephenson and Griffith LJ was appreciated and therefore agreed by Cumming-Bruce LJ. C brought an action in negligence (and/or breach of statutory duty) against their employer, the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police (D), for . The case was known as Frost and Others v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police and Others [1997] 1 All ER 540 in the lower courts. [70] As per Griffith LJ [1981] 1 All ER 809 at page 829. The courts in different cases have recognized different type of psychiatric illnesses. The best example is Boardman and Another v Sanderson and Another[56]. The father subsequently suffered nervous shock as a result of witnessing the accident. The secondary victims must be close to the accident both in terms of time and place. Again, in the case of Fenn v City of Peterborough[64], the claimant arived home couple of minutes after a gas explosion in which he lost his three children. Consequently, actions brought by the potential claimants or the victims of psychiatric illness have often been unsuccessful for a number of reasons despite of having been suffered genuine recognized psychiatric injury[1]. However, Ormerod LJ. But, the chief constable of South Yorkshire police claimed that they did not owe any duty of care to the claimants. . .Cited Barber v Somerset County Council HL 1-Apr-2004 A teacher sought damages from his employer after suffering a work related stress breakdown. However, liability could not be avoided if the accident took place very close to him and was so horrific. If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on LawTeacher.net then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! On the otherhand, the defendant admitted that he was negligent in relation to the accident of the boy but he denied any kind of liability or duty of care towards the claimant as far as her psychiatric injury was concerned. He was not a rescuer, and nor had . But the fact of the present case must be considered in accordance with the decision of Bourhill v Young[54] where the House of Lords provided the test-if the defendant have reasonably foreseen any damage to the claimant then he owes a duty of care and liable for negligently causing personal damage. So, in this situation- Singleton LJ. While Robertson was driving the van, Smith was sitting on top of the metal sheet. So, finally, the House of Lord dismissed the appeal made by the claimant. where the rescuer may not have been in physical danger but was awarded damages due to his putting himself in the 'zone of danger', after the event. had introduced the Special Rule . 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