Appendix 1 - by date
There are two versions of this appendix. The other one is grouped by themes and omits some cases which don’t fit the themes – this page is ordered by date, and includes all cases.
Let me know if you’d prefer a list by date, topic, chapter in which it is first mentioned or alphabetical by defendant.
1876 Nugent v Smith placed “Acts of God” in context. See What is foreseeability?
1903 McQuire v Western Morning News defined the “reasonable man” as “the man on the Clapham omnibus”. This is mentioned in What is Foreseeability?
1932 Donoghue v Stevenson. The definitive ‘ginger beer’ case which set the rules for who we are responsible to for health and safety, and how far ahead we should foresee harm. Mentioned in What is foreseeability
1932 Fardon v Harcourt-Rivington. We are not “bound to guard against fantastic possibilities” – but later cases such as Chargot (2008) push the responsibility back on defendents to prove it was fantastic.
1949 Edwards v National Coal Board. Includes the definition of “reasonably practicable” we continue to use. See Chapter 5 and Chapter 12.
1965 Uddin v Portland Cement is mentioned in What is Foreseeability?
1953 General Cleaning Contractors v Christmas. Illustrates the problem of assuming people will know what is safe to do.
1954 Drummond v British Building Cleaners Ltd. Illustrates the problem of assuming people will know what is safe to do.
1990 Caparo Industries v Dickman. Nothing to do with safety, but a lot to do with duty of care.
1991 Copoc, Alcock and others v. Wright. A case against the Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police which rules that families who had watched the Hillsborough disaster unfold on TV, knowing their loved ones were in the crowd, could not claim for the distress caused.
1994 Walker v Northumberland County Council. How the duty of care requires different actions for different employees.
1997 Durnan Barnes v Stockton-On-Tees Borough Council. Safe systems of work and ‘common sense‘.
2002 R v Davies. Reverse burden of proof.
2006 R v Corus UK. This is mentioned in What is Foreseeability?
2006 Peter Alastair Struthers-Wright v Nevis Range Development Company plc. This case adds the idea of ‘beauty’ to the cost, time and effort equation in deciding what is reasonably practicable.
2008 R v Chargot. Reverse burden of proof.
2008 R v Porter. A case which tests our understanding of significance.
2009 R v Electric Gate Services. Not in the book, but in an article on foreseeability.
2009 R v Sky Scaffolding (Midlands) Ltd. What happens when your risk assessent hopes that “others affected by your undertaking” will stay clear.
2010 R v North Yorkshire County Council.
2010 Wallace v Glasgow. A civil case which illustrates how prescriptive regulations can trump foreseeability.
2010, 2011 Micklewright v Surrey County Council is mentioned in What is Foreseeability?
2011 Bowen & others v The National Trust. Illustrates that courts do accept a reasonable approach to managing thousands of trees. See also Joanna Parker v The National Trust (2021).
2011 Baker v Quantum Clothing is mentioned in What is Foreseeability? Judgement details from the Supreme court.
2011 R v Tangerine Confectionery and Veolia ES (UK) is mentioned in What is Foreseeability? Judgement details from the Crown Office chambers.
2012 R v Warwick Castle. The dilemma of what is practical with heritage properties.
2012 R v Provimi. Illustrates the dangers of ‘scope creep’ for approved contractors.
2012 R v Raymond Jenkins, where failing to consider the impact of your parking on other people leads to death, a jail sentence and the end of your driving career.
2013 Larkins Logistics & Bison Manufacturing. Demonstrates the importance of communicating controls once determined, and checking they are being followed.
2014 R v Brintons. A reminder that you can’t assume that even contractors with a good reputation will get it right – and that the client will be liable if they didn’t make reasonable checks.
2015 R v Pizza Express. Illustrates how dangerous manual handling can be – and how one’s perception of danger is influenced by cases you know well.
2016 R v Rainbow Waste Management. An earlier example than Biffa Waste Services (2025) illustrating the importance of monitoring controls. Covered in IOSH Magazine.
2020 R v Tesco. The supermarket slip case referred to in Chapter 17 and prosecuted by Dacorum Borough Council. Details from the BBC and IOSH Magazine.
2021 R v Aster Heathcare Ltd (AH Ltd at appeal) and Mr SJ. A failed attempt to overturn R v Davies (2002) and R v Chargot (2008).
2021 Joanna Parker v The National Trust. Alongside Bowen & others v The National Trust (2011) this illustrates that there is a proportionate approach to managing thousands of trees.
2022 Stagecoach Devon Ltd. Demonstates the dangers of applying a generic risk assessment without tailoring it to individual circumstances.
2022 R v Greenfeeds Ltd. Two men died in a confined space. Co-owners were sentenced to 20 months and 13 years in jail.2023 R v Imperial Machine Company et al. Illustrates that latent hazards can sit in a system for years before causing actual harm – and that sometimes, the manufacturer does pay.
2023 R v BUPA. If you plan to inspect, you have agreed that it is practical to do so.
2023 R v Hawkeswood Metal Recycling and Ensco 10101. Five men died at a recycling site when a wall fell on them. Two directors received jail sentences of 9 months.
2023 R v Decopak. A maintenance engineer died alone on Good Friday, crushed by the machine that had its safety features disabled. The director responsible was jailed for 5 years.
2024 R v Optilight Electrical and Expert Tooling & Automation. Anyone at work who could affect the safety of contractors needs to be involved.
2024 R v Morrisons appeal, which tried to use Porter (2008) to argue that steps are not a work hazard. But sometimes, they are.
2025 Biffa Waste Services Ltd. Shows that “doing” a risk assessment is not enough. If controls are not monitored, and then adapted or enforced if they aren’t working, the results can be tragic and expensive.
2025 R v Nerys Bethan Lloyd. Where a poorly planned paddleboard trip resulted in deaths, plus a 10.5 year jail sentence for the organiser. Covered in IOSH Magazine.
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Appendix 1: Case studies by year
Appendix 2: Answers to questons posed in each chapter
Appendix 3: Lost HSE references