High Court of Australia
IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
Judgment delivered at... MELBOURNE
W. Mt. Houston Govt, Print, Deb, on. LUMSDAY ,...1 5TH..OCTOBER, 1952...
©.1978/38
ve
RALSTON
Appeal allowed with costs.
Judgment of the Supreme Court of the Capital Territory discharged. In lieu thereof enter judgment for the defendant with costs.
CLOWRY
RALSTON
CLOWRY Ve
RALSTON
fhe question which we are called upon to decide in this appeal is whether a breach of duty was established against the driver of a taxi-cab the door of whose cab was in such a condition that in course of opening it the intending passenger sustained a blow on his spectacles causing a serious injury to his eye.
The appeal comes from the Supreme Court of the Capital Territory which gave judgment on 17th April 1956 for the plaintiff for £4,900. The accident occurred as long ago as 29th January 1952. The defendant, the driver of a taxi-cab, was plying for hire at a rank in Manuka in Canberra. The plaintiff is a medical practitioner who desired to hire the cab. The defendant was sitting in the driver's seat and the plaintiff approached the cab from the left hand side and took the handle of the front door in his left hand. He says that he asked the taxi driver if he could take him to the hospital and received an affirmative reply. He applied a moderate amount of force in order to open the door, at first unsuccessfully. Suddenly the door opened and struck the left hand lens of the spectacles which he was wearing. Unfortunately the lens was broken and the glass entered his eye. The consequences to his eye have proved serious.
There is some evidence that the taxi driver when he found the plaintiff in difficulties leaned over to his left and assisted in the opening of the door. In his evidenee the defendant said that he did not remember touching the door from the inside but thought that he got out to go to assist the plaintiff in opening the door and that before he got there the plaintiff had opened the door and injured his eye. He did not feel sure but as far as he could remember he did not take part
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