Contractor Duty of Care: Clarification for Occupiers (Yates v National Trust) - Nicholas Thorne, Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP
19/03/14. Claims involving occupiers are seldom straightforward and for that reason, continue to exercise the minds of lawyers and judges alike. In contrast to claims against an employer, where the duty of care is non-delegable, the starting point is to examine whether a duty of care exists. In cases involving the state of the premises, then one need look no further than the Occupiers Liability Acts (OLA) 1957 and 1984. But, where we are considering an activity, (of which there can be an infinite variety), that has taken place on the occupier’s land, then one has to return to the principles of common law negligence. Add in the proverbial independent contractor and we bring into play the statutory obligations which exist under the various regulatory provisions, for example, the Work at Height Regulations (WAH) 2005.
An occupier can therefore expect to have to defend his position on several fronts and so it proved in the recent case of Yates v National Trust. The claimant was a tree surgeon, working for an arboricultural contractor, who had been engaged by the defendant to carry out tree works at its property. In circumstances which are not entirely clear, the claimant fell out of the tree in which he was working and sustained...
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