R v Pittwood
A contractual duty can give rise to criminal liability for an omission towards people who are not parties to the contract.
Facts
Mr Pittwood was employed by a railway company as a gatekeeper at a level crossing, with the job of keeping the gate shut whenever a train was passing. One day he opened the gate to let a cart through and then went off to lunch, leaving the gate open. A train hit a hay cart crossing the line, killing the driver. Mr Pittwood was charged with manslaughter.
Legal principle
Wright J held that Mr Pittwood was guilty of manslaughter. His contract of employment imposed a duty on him to keep the gate shut, and that duty extended to members of the public using the crossing, not only to his employer. A person may be criminally liable for failing to act where he has undertaken a duty under a contract and others rely on its performance for their safety.
Related cases on Actus reus and omissions
- Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1993] AC 789
- DPP v Santana-Bermudez [2003] EWHC 2908 (Admin)
- Fagan v Metropolitan Police Commissioner [1969] 1 QB 439
- R v Dytham [1979] QB 722
- R v Evans (Gemma) [2009] EWCA Crim 650, [2009] 1 WLR 1999
- R v Gibbins and Proctor (1918) 13 Cr App R 134
- R v Instan [1893] 1 QB 450
- R v Khan and Khan [1998] Crim LR 830
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