Occupier s liability

The responsibility of occupiers of land to those who legally enter the premises is to be found in the Occupier s Liability Acts of 1957 and 1984. The 1957 Act covers both tortious and contractual liability. The basic obligation is that the occupier owes a common duty of care to see that the premises are reasonably safe for the purpose for which the visitor has been permitted to enter (s. 2). It is possible of course for any contract that may exist between the occupier and the visitor to state a higher duty of care than that of s. 2. But under the Act it was possible for the occupier to exclude this... 

The Occupier s Liability Act 1984 makes two important changes to the law. The original Act made no reference to the duty of an occupier to a trespasser. The courts were left to evolve their own rules to cater for this category of person. 

The common law duty of care owed to visitors by an occupier in respect of premises is now statutory and was clarified in the Occupier s Liability Act 1957 which ended the previous (often subtle) distinction between persons invited to enter (called invitees) and those allowed to enter (licensees), a distinction which previously affected the standard of duty. Under the 1957 Act, both categories are visitors to whom an occupier owes the common duty of care once the relationship of occupier and visitor is established. The duty is to take such care as in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable to see that the visitor will be reasonably safe in using the premises for the purposes for which he is invited or permitted to be there. An example is Cunningham V. Reading Football Clulfi. Due to the football club s failure to maintain its terraces, football hooligans were able to use lumps of masonry as missiles. A policeman on duty at the club was injured and successfully sued that club. 

The Occupier s Liability Act 1984 now applies to persons other than visitors. As well as trespassers, this category also includes persons merely exercising a right of way across premises. The 1984 Act provides that there is a duty owed to uninvited entrants if the occupier has reasonable grounds to believe a danger exists on his premises and the consequent risk is one against which, in all the circumstances, he/she may reasonably be expected to provide some protection. 

Occupational Safety and Health Act 1970 (USA) 429 Occupier s Liability Act 1957 90,154,161,165 Occupier s Liability Act 1984 43, 90, 91,154,165 Packaging Essential Requirements Regulations 1998 922 Packaging, Labelling and Carriage of Radioactive Material by Rail Regulations 1996 842... 

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