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Tort: Occupiers' Liability

Trespassers and the duty under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984

  • 3 things to know
  • Components 2 and 3

Overview

Who counts as a trespasser, the common humanity duty Herrington created, and the three conditions in section 1(3) that have to be met before any duty is owed at all.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

State the three conditions in section 1(3) of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984.

Key term

Who is a trespasser?

Numbers

What duty was owed to a trespasser at common law before 1972?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Who is a trespasser?

    Model answer

    A trespasser is a person who enters land without permission or legal right. A visitor who exceeds the permission given also becomes a trespasser.

  2. 2

    What duty was owed to a trespasser at common law before 1972?

    Model answer

    Addie v Dumbreck [1929] held that an occupier owed a trespasser no duty except not to injure them intentionally or recklessly. A trespasser hurt by the dangerous state of the premises had no claim.

  3. 3

    How did British Railways Board v Herrington [1972] change the law?

    Model answer

    A six-year-old was badly burned on an electrified railway line reached through a broken fence. The House of Lords held that an occupier owes a trespasser a duty of common humanity.

  4. 4

    Why was the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 passed?

    Model answer

    The duty of common humanity recognised in Herrington was vague and hard to apply. The Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 put the duty owed to non-visitors on a statutory footing.

  5. 5

    State the three conditions in section 1(3) of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984.

    Model answer

    The occupier must be aware of the danger or have reasonable grounds to believe it exists. The occupier must also know or have reasonable grounds to believe the other person is in the vicinity of the danger. The risk must finally be one against which the occupier may reasonably be expected to offer some protection.

  6. 6

    What is the duty once the section 1(3) conditions are satisfied?

    Model answer

    Section 1(4) requires the occupier to take such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances. The duty is to see that the trespasser is not injured by reason of the danger concerned.

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