Skip to main content

Dann v. Hamilton 1939

 Dann v. Hamilton 1939


FACTS:

The plaintiff was a passenger in a car which was driven by the drunken driver. The claimant was under no necessity nor coercion to travel by car driven by that person. However, she willingly chooses to do so. The car was involved in an accident, which was caused by the driver’s drunkenness. As a result of the accident, the driver died and the claimant claimed damages for negligence from the driver’s personal representative.


Issue:

Can the defence of volenti non fit injuria be used in order to preclude from remedy a person who has voluntarily accepted the risk which arises from a driver who is driving a car under the influence of alcohol?



Plaintiff’s Arguments:


The Plaintiff chose to travel in a car. The Driver of the car was intoxicated. Due to the Negligence of the driver, the car met with an accident caused death of the driver and injuries to the Plaintiff.


Defendant’s Arguments:


Defendant took defence of ‘volenti non fit injuria’ which means if someone willingly places themselves in a position where harm might result, knowing that some degree of harm might result, they are not able to bring a claim against the other party in tort or delict.

Defendant in his arguments said that the lady Plaintiff was knowing the fact that the driver was drunk that a road traffic accident was highly likely as a result, chose to travel by the car despite being under no compulsion to do that driven either by necessity or something else. An accident occurred on the road, which was caused by the driver’s drunkness and the plaintiff was injured. 


Held:

The court found for the defendant, the deceased’s representative. The court held that since the claimant was aware of the drunken state of the driver, by getting into the car, she willingly accepted the increased risks of the accident. However, as held by Asquith J: ‘there may be cases in which the drunkenness of the driver at the material time is so extreme and so glaring that to accept a lift from him is like engaging in an intrinsically and obviously dangerous occupation, intermeddling with an unexploded bomb or walking on the edge of an unfenced cliff.’ In Dann v Hamilton, the driver’s state of drunkenness was hardly that extreme. Therefore, defence of volenti non fit injuria did not apply and the claimant was entitled to recover damages. 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Concept of constitutionalism

  Concept of constitutionalism Who Started Constitutionalism? John Locke - The English Bill of Rights is a foundational constitutional document that helped inspire the American Bill of Rights. Political theorist  John Locke  played a huge role in cementing the philosophy of constitutionalism.  Constitution is a written law which describes the structure of Government, the rules according to which the Govt. must work and the boundaries within which the Govt. must work. Constitutionalism   can be defined as the doctrine that governs the legitimacy of government action, and it implies something far more important than the idea of legality that requires official conduct to be in accordance with pre-fixed legal rules. Constitution constitution is the document that contains the basic and fundamental law of the nation, setting out the organization of the government and the principles of the society. Basic norm (or law) of the state; System of integration and organi...

business tips

1. Have a clear vision for your business and strive to achieve it. 2. Hire great people and give them ownership in the company. 3. Provide excellent customer service. 4. Establish yourself as an expert in your field. 5. Develop relationships with key suppliers, customers, and partners. 6. Keep track of your finances and invest in marketing and innovation. 7. Utilize digital platforms to reach a larger audience. 8. Take calculated risks and back yourself. 9. Continuously strive to improve your products and services. 10. Make customer satisfaction your priority.

Effects of Non-Registration

 Effects of Non-Registration The Companies Act, 2013 evidently highlights that the main essential for any organization to turn into a company is to get itself registered. A company cannot come into existence until it gets registered. But no such obligation has been imposed for firms by the Indian Partnership Act, 1932. If a firm is not registered it does not cease to be called as a firm, it still exists in the eyes law. Certainly, such a big advantage is not absolute but is subjected to a lot of limitations which we will study further. Non-registration of a firm simply means that the business skips the formalities of incorporation and ceases to exist in the eyes of the law. section 58 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 deals with the procedure of incorporation. Likewise, the meaning of non-registration is the exact opposite of registration, meaning when a firm does not go through the procedure of incorporation or start carrying on activities without getting registered. Effects of ...