Q: A friend of mine came over to my house for a birthday party.
She tripped on some loose tiles and ended up fracturing her wrist when she
fell. Am I responsible even though I didn't know?
A: Yes, you are responsible. As an occupier, you are responsible
for injuries to certain persons on your property/premises; this is called occupier's liability.
Here’s the law surrounding this topic.
Who
is an occupier?
According
to Wheat v Lacon (1966), an occupier exercises a sufficient degree of
control over the premises
In
this case, 4 categories of Occupiers
were identified:
- If the
landlord rents the premises to a tenant, then the tenant is the occupier.
- If the
landlord rents the premises, he remains liable for common areas such as
stairs, gardens etc.
- If the
landlord grants a licence, then both are occupiers.
- If the
landlord engages an independent contractor, then the landlord remains the
occupier BUT the independent contractor may be the occupier if he
has a high level of control.
What are premises?
“…
any fixed or moveable structure, including any vessel, vehicle or aircraft.”
Dangerous Premises
Occupiers
must keep premises in a reasonably safe condition. There must be “negligence”, “defect”
or “danger” with the premises for a claim to
succeed.
Categories
of persons on property:
Visitors
Anyone
with expressed or implied permission to be on the property.
Includes
permission granted by law:
ž Police
Officers and Health Inspectors.
ž Jehovah’s
Witnesses? Political Canvassers?
Robson
v. Hallet (1967)
“...when a householder lives in a dwelling house to
which there is a garden in front and does not lock the gate of the
garden it gives an implied licence to any member of the public who has lawful
reason for doing so to proceed from the gate to the front door or the back
door...”
Trespassers
According to Addie v Dumbreck [1929], there
is no duty of care owed to trespassers. The only duty was not to inflict harm
wilfully.
