30.05.2008

Mason v Satelcom - An Outbreak of Common Sense?

In judgments handed down today in Mason v Satelcom, the Court of Appeal has taken a fresh look at the nature and extent of statutory duties owed by non-employers to workers injured while working on their premises. In particular, a Court comprising LJJ’s Ward, Longmore and May has shed much light upon the concept of control sufficient to found liability when the use of a piece of work equipment for unsuitable purposes has led to an injurious fall from height. It is a decision which will bring joy to public liability insurers resigned to a perception of near absolute duties imposed by the “six-pack” regulations. In what many will see as an outbreak of common sense, use of work equipment in a silly way will not, on facts comparable to the instant case, give rise to liability upon a non employer even though that person had control of it.  Christopher Russell appeared for the insurers of the employer.

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