Nimmo v Alexander Cowan & Sons Ltd

Facts

A workman was injured at his place of work. He sued for breach of section 29(1) of the Factories Act 1961, which required the place to be made and kept safe so far as was reasonably practicable. His pleadings did not say what the employers could reasonably have done. The employers said that was his allegation to make.

Issue

Who must prove that it was not reasonably practicable to make the place safer?

Held

The employers. The House of Lords, by three to two, held that the obligation is to keep the place safe, and that 'so far as is reasonably practicable' is a qualification the employer must establish.

Principle

The words of the statute decide who proves an exception. A qualification of a duty owed to a workman is not lightly turned into a burden on the injured person.

Why it matters

It is the civil guide to the same drafting question that Hunt later answers in crime. The holding is the employer's burden, not a burden on the workman.

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