Scout Association v Barnes
A scout leader was negligent in allowing boys to play a game in the dark, because the risk of injury was increased without any sufficient additional benefit.
Facts
Mr Barnes, aged 13, took part in a game at a scout meeting called Objects in the Dark, in which boys ran around the hall to grab wooden blocks from the centre when the lights were turned off. In the dark, he collided with a bench and was injured. He sued the Scout Association.
Legal principle
The Court of Appeal held, by a majority, that the Association was liable. The game was more dangerous when played in the dark than in the light, and the increased risk of injury was not justified by the additional excitement it provided. Smith LJ said that the court must balance the risk of injury against the social value of the activity, and that, although society values activities with some risk for children, the extra element of danger here was not justified. Ward LJ dissented, warning against making the activities of children too safe.
Related cases on breach of duty
- Blyth v Birmingham Waterworks Co (1856) 11 Exch 781
- Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957] 1 WLR 582
- Bolitho v City and Hackney Health Authority [1998] AC 232
- Bolton v Stone [1951] AC 850
- Daborn v Bath Tramways Motor Co Ltd [1946] 2 All ER 333
- Dunnage v Randall [2015] EWCA Civ 673, [2016] QB 639
- Glasgow Corporation v Muir [1943] AC 448
- Latimer v AEC Ltd [1953] AC 643
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