In the courts - Personal injury
Youth activity charity not responsible for rock-climbing accident...
When Gary Poppleton fell off an artificial climbing wall at the Peter Ashley Activity Centre in Portsmouth on 12 February 2002 he landed on his head and was rendered tetraplegic. He sued for damages and the High Court gave judgment on 12 July 2007 in favour of Mr Poppleton for 25 per cent of his loss, finding his own negligence contributed to 75 per cent of his accident. There had been some climbing rules (which included various safety instructions) on display which expert evidence agreed could have been more prominently displayed. Mr Poppleton had not read these rules before attempting his disastrous manoeuvre.
The charity appealed against the finding that it was in breach of its duty of care to Poppleton, but he crossappealed the extent to which he was found contributorily liable. The case was seen by many as a landmark case in which the legal liability of charities would be put to the test.
Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council [2003] was considered where the House of Lords held that there was no breach of duty where Mr Tomlinson dived into a lake resulting in tetraplegia on grounds that a duty to protect against obvious or self-inflicted harm exists only in cases in which there is no genuine or informed choice.
The appeal was allowed and the cross-appeal dismissed. Lord Justice May closed his judgment, explaining: ‘The risk of possibly severe injury from an awkward fall was obvious and did not sustain a duty in the appellants to warn Mr Poppleton of it. On this finding, the cross-appeal on contributory negligence does not arise for decision.’
Trustees of the Portsmouth Youth Activities Committee (A Charity) v Poppleton [2008] EWCA Civ 646
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