Keith Patten reflects on an employer's duty of care; obvious risks, and the duty to warn
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As a matter of general principle the fact that an employer has a duty in common law negligence to devise a safe system of work is uncontentious. It is not uncommon, however, for defendants to respond to a claim by saying that an accident is all the claimant's fault because he chose to do something stupid or, as it is more conventionally put, was the author of his own misfortune. As with so much else in the law of negligence this is all a matter of degree but the Court of Appeal has recently re-affirmed the nature of the employer's duty: Ammah v Kuehne & Nagel Logistics Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 11, [2009] All ER (D) 155 (Jan). A duty to warn, even in respect of obvious risks, has long been a part of the employer's obligations. What remains unclear is the extent of that duty.
Ammah v Kuehne & Nagel
