''Ward v. Tesco Stores Ltd.'' 9761 WLR 810, is an English tort law case concerning the doctrine of '' res ipsa loquitur'' ("the thing speaks for itself"). It deals with the law of negligence and it set an important precedent in so called "trip and slip" cases which are a common occurrence.

Facts

The plaintiff slipped on some pink yoghurt in a Tesco store in

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, Liverpool. It was not clear whether or not Tesco staff were to blame for the spillage. It could have been another customer, or the wind, or anything else. Spillages happened roughly 10 times a week and staff had standing orders to clean anything up straight away. As Lawton LJ observed in his judgment,at 814 ff. The trial judge had held in Mrs Ward's favour and she was awarded £137.50 in damages. Tesco appealed.

Judgment

It was held by a majority (

Lawton LJ Sir Frederick Horace Lawton (21 December 1911 – 3 February 2001) was a British barrister and judge who served as Lord Justice of Appeal from 1972 to 1986. Early life and career Frederick Lawton was born in Wandsworth, London, the son of Wi ...

and Megaw LJ) that even though it could not be said exactly what happened, the pink yoghurt being spilled spoke for itself as to who was to blame. Tesco was required to pay compensation. The plaintiff did not need to prove how long the spill had been there, because the burden of proof was on Tesco. Lawton LJ's judgment explained the previous case law, starting with ''Richards v. WF White & Co.''

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1 Lloyd's Rep.

Dissent

Omrod LJ disagreed with

and Megaw LJ on the basis that Tesco did not seem to have been able to do anything to have prevented the accident. He argued that they did not fail to take reasonable care, and in his words, the accident "could clearly have happened no matter what degree of care these defendants had taken."

Notes

{{reflist English tort case law English occupier case law Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases 1976 in case law 1976 in British law Tesco