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''Paris v Stepney Borough Council'' 950UKHL 3Full text of the decision
/ref> was a decision of the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
that significantly affected the concept of
Standard of care In tort law, the standard of care is the only degree of prudence and caution required of an individual who is under a duty of care. The requirements of the standard are closely dependent on circumstances. Whether the standard of care has been b ...
in
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...
. The plaintiff Paris was employed by the then
Stepney Borough Council The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the gen ...
as a general garage-hand. He had sight in only one eye, and his employer was aware of this. The council only issued eye protection goggles to its employees who were welders or tool-grinders. In the course of his usual work, Paris received an injury to his sighted eye. He sued the council for damages in the
tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...
of
negligence Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as ...
. On appeal it was decided that Stepney Borough Council was aware of his special circumstances and failed in their
duty of care In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. It is the first element that must be establi ...
to give him protective goggles.


Facts

Paris was employed by Stepney Borough Council as garage-hand. He had suffered a war injury that left him with sight in only one eye. While Paris was attempting to loosen a rusted car axle bolt with a hammer, he caused a chip of metal to fly into his sighted eye, and as a result was permanently blinded in both eyes.


Case law

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Butterfield v Forrester ''Butterfield v. Forrester'', 11 East. 60, 103 Eng. Rep. 926 (K.B. 1809), was an English case before the King's Bench that was the first appearance of contributory negligence as a common law defence against negligence Negligence (Lat. ''ne ...
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Davies v Mann ''Davies v. Mann'', 152 Eng. Rep. 588 (1882), was an English case that contained the first formulation of the " last clear chance" or “last opportunity rule” doctrine in negligence law. The case concerned an accident in which a donkey, belon ...
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May v Burdett ''May v. Burdett'', 9 Q.B. 101 (1846), was an English case argued decided before the Queen's Bench that ruled a plaintiff injured by a dangerous animal kept by the defendant had a prima facie case for negligence even without a showing that the d ...
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Winterbottom v Wright ''Winterbottom v Wright'' (184210 M&W 109was an important case in English common law responsible for constraining the law's 19th-century stance on negligence. Facts The plaintiff Winterbottom had been contracted by the Postmaster-General to ...
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris v Stepney Borough Council 1950 in case law 1950 in British law Negligence case law House of Lords cases English tort case law English enforceability case law United Kingdom tort case law 1950 in London Stepney