Read the full judgment text of CACV 000016/2000 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 14 March 2000 before Godfrey V-P, Keith JA and Ribeiro JA.
Civil law – occupiers' liability – fatal accident – duty of care – contributory negligence – interest on damages – Occupiers Liability Ordinance (Cap. 314) – deceased electrician and plumber designed and installed new plumbing and electrical system, including an additional water tank with a fibre glass cover, in the pump room of Yuen Fat Building – switch box and control panels mounted on wall above tank required standing on the cover for access – on 5 August 1995, deceased was summoned to effect repairs – fibre glass cover collapsed and deceased was electrocuted – claim brought by widow as administratrix of the deceased's estate – trial judge found Defendant occupier in breach of common duty of care under s.3(2) of the Ordinance and assessed deceased's contributory negligence at 75% – Defendant appealed – first issue: whether the degree of care owed by the occupier to the deceased was reduced by s.3(3)(b) of the Ordinance as he was the designer and installer of the system – held, the duty owed to the deceased was less onerous than that owed to other visitors because, adapting the language of s.3(3)(b), an occupier may expect a person who had designed and been responsible for the installation of an electrical and plumbing system to appreciate and guard against any special risks ordinarily incident to its maintenance or repair – second issue: whether the Defendant had discharged its duty of care under s.3(4) – held, no – although the work was carried out by an independent contractor, the danger of standing on a fibre glass cover was obvious even to the untrained eye, and the Defendant allowed the dangerous state to exist for five years without taking any steps to provide alternative support or reinforce the cover – third issue: causation – whether the death was caused by the faulty construction of the system or solely by the deceased's failure to use the wooden plank as support – held, applying the common sense approach in Stapley v. Gypsum Mines, both the faulty construction and the deceased's failure contributed as joint causes – fourth issue: whether contributory negligence should be assessed at 100% or higher than 75% – held, the court did not need to decide whether 100% is logically possible, and the 75% apportionment should stand as it was within the range of reasonable disagreement – fifth issue: whether interest should be awarded on the loss of accumulation of wealth award of $231,954.54 – held, no pre-trial interest because such awards are already discounted to reflect accelerated receipt (Kwan Lai Kuen) – post-trial interest at the judgment rate is appropriate to prevent a defendant from delaying payment – appeal against liability and contributory negligence dismissed – appeal allowed only to the limited extent of setting aside the pre-trial interest on loss of accumulation of wealth – Defendant to pay Plaintiff's costs of the appeal, to be taxed in accordance with the Legal Aid Regulations if not agreed
Legal issues: Scope of duty of care under s.3(3) Occupiers Liability Ordinance for a visitor who designed and installed the system · Whether the Defendant discharged its common duty of care under s.3(4) Occupiers Liability Ordinance · Causation - whether faulty construction of the system caused the deceased's death · Whether contributory negligence should be assessed at 100% or higher than 75% · Whether interest should be awarded on loss of accumulation of wealth
Outcome: Appeal against liability and contributory negligence dismissed; appeal allowed only to the limited extent of setting aside the award of pre-trial interest on loss of accumulation of wealth
Cited by 1 case