Whether a doctor’s conduct is reasonable or negligent is tested by comparing it with what would be expected of a reasonable doctor in the circumstances. The test does not expect the doctor to have the highest level of skill and expertise but rather the general level of skill and diligence possessed and exercised at the … Continue reading
This blog was co-authored by: Adrienne Cloete, Candidate Attorney. The hosting school hosted a rugby tournament. During a match with a visiting school the claimant (Izak), playing for the visiting school team suffered a neck injury after being tackled by a player from the opposing team. The player was carried off the field by two … Continue reading
This blog was co-authored by: Carly Lakin, Candidate Attorney In this judgment the court considered whether the principal was liable for the negligence of an independent contractor. An attorney at the Gqeberha Magistrates’ Court slipped on a wet floor and sustained injuries. He instituted action against the Minister of Public Works & Infrastructure as the … Continue reading
The High Court in Gqeberha has confirmed that the shop owner has the legal duty to take the reasonable steps to prevent harm to its patrons and to take the reasonable steps to warn customers of potential dangers. Whilst shopping at the store of the defendant, the claimant, slipped and fell due to cake flour … Continue reading
The test for negligence is straightforward and summarised in the frequently cited judgment of Kruger v Coetzee 1966 2 SA 428 A at 430 E-H If a reasonable person would have foreseen the reasonable possibility of harm and would have taken reasonable steps to prevent it happening, and the person in question did not do … Continue reading
This blog was co-authored by: Tristan Marot, associate designate In the high court judgment Legal Expenses Insurance Southern Africa Limited t/a Legalwise v Melamu, the high court confirmed that as a “general rule an employer is not liable for the wrongdoing of an independent contractor unless the employer was personally at fault.” The plaintiff sued a … Continue reading
The owner of a dog that attacks a person who neither provoked the attack nor by their negligence directly caused their own injury is liable, as owner, to make good the resultant damages. Based on Roman law, for nearly 200 years the law in South Africa has been accepted that owners of animals are strictly … Continue reading
Shop owners have a duty of care to their customers. The duty of care necessitates preventing harm to customers, which can be reasonably foreseen. The duty is however not limitless. In De Wet v Gateway Plaza Meatworld CC De Wet slipped and fell at Gateway Plaza. She alleged that her fall was caused by oil … Continue reading
The claimant failed in her damages claim against the organisers of her overseas holiday for an injury to her elbow suffered on a ‘White Knuckle Jet Boat Thrill Ride’ excursion that she had signed up for whilst on a cruise. She failed in her allegations of negligence that, despite the fact that she was aware … Continue reading
A clear and unambiguous exclusion clause may be relied upon to avoid liability for damages arising from the negligent failure to fulfil a contractual duty. The wording of the exclusion clause must, however, specifically mention the extent to which liability is excluded. The courts generally interpret an exclusion clause as not covering negligent conduct if … Continue reading
Often ‘gross negligence’ is used as a carve-out from a no-liability clause. The Consumer Protection Act expressly provides that a supplier cannot exclude liability for gross negligence. Negligence is the deviation from the standard of care expected of a reasonable person in the particular circumstances. Clearly more than mere negligence is involved when a person … Continue reading
The reasonable precautions clause which commonly appears in policies requires the insured to take reasonable steps to safeguard the insured property or prevent accidents and minimise loss, damage or liability (or variations thereof). The clause most likely requires proof of recklessness on the part of the insured but interestingly, there is no authoritative judgment by … Continue reading
The terrible and harrowing tale of an 18 year old mildly intellectually impaired woman can be read in the judgments of the high court (Bridgman NO v Witzenberg Municipality and others) and the appeal judgment of Witzenberg Municipality v Bridgman NO and others of 3 December 2019. Both the lower and appeal court had no … Continue reading
Where a bill of lading provided that ‘the carrier shall in no case be responsible for loss of or damage to the cargo, howsoever arising … in respect of deck cargo’ the English High Court held that the provision effectively excluded liability for deck cargo which was lost overboard from the vessel in heavy seas. … Continue reading
The Supreme Court of Appeal has held that the eThekwini Municipality had a legal duty to supervise and control access to a water slide built for children and situated in a pool on the Durban beachfront Promenade. A mother had taken her son for a day by the sea. The son joined one of many … Continue reading
A Kentucky trucking company suffered a theft of copper shipments and the insurers rejected the claim because there was a copper exclusion in the policy. The company then sued its broker for negligently failing to notify the company about the copper exclusion in its renewed policy. The policies for the previous two years had provided … Continue reading
A US bank employee left her individual token in her computer and left the computer running at the end of a work day. Overnight two unauthorised wire transfers had been made to different banks in Poland and one of $485 000 could not be recovered. The policy covered loss resulting from hacking but excluding loss ’caused … Continue reading