Butcher v Southend-on-Sea Borough Council [2014] EWCA Civ 1556 - Jack Nicholls & Mike Blitz, 5 Pump Court
15/12/14. In Butcher v Southend-on-Sea Borough Council [2014] EWCA Civ 1556, the Court of Appeal rejected any attempt to treat the various factors established as relevant to occupier’s liability as a checklist. The decision serves as a reminder that weight is just as important as substance when pursuing or defending such claims.
THE CASE
The facts of Butcher were generally unremarkable. The Claimant had been visiting her elderly parents at sheltered accommodation, the rear of which was accessible by a tarmac path that turned abruptly to the right shortly after exiting. At this point, the path stood just over 2 ½ inches proud of the surrounding ground, which it was accepted had shrunk due to dry weather. As she was leaving the premises, the Claimant fell from the path and seriously injured her knee on a raised drain cover. The case was brought against the Local Authority as occupier under the Occupier’s Liability Act 1957...
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