Disclaimer: This work was produced by one of our expert legal writers, as a learning aid to help law students with their studies.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. Any information contained in this case summary does not constitute legal advice and should be treated as educational content only.

Attia v British Gas

305 words (1 pages) Case Summary

17th Jun 2019 Case Summary Reference this In-house law team

Jurisdiction / Tag(s): UK Law

Attia v British Gas [1988] QB 304

NEGLIGENCE – PROPERTY DAMAGE – PSYCHIATRIC HARM

Facts

C engaged British Gas (D) to install a new central heating system in her home but returned to find that her loft had caught fire. The house and its contents suffered extensive damage, which C witnessed first-hand. The property claim against D was settled, as their breach of duty had plainly caused the damage C’s house, however C also sued to recover damages for nervous shock, incurred as a result of witnessing her belongings. This claim as dismissed at first instance and C brought an appeal.

Issues

This case raised two distinct issues, one factual and one a matter of policy. The factual question concerned whether, for the purposes of imposing a duty of care on D, it was reasonably foreseeable that the loft would catch fire. The second question, and the more important, concerned whether, in principle, damages were recoverable for recognised psychiatric harm where the harm in question was caused purely to property.

Decision/Outcome

The Court of Appeal found in favour of C, holding that, as a matter of principle, there was no doctrinal or policy reason to limit the recovery of damages to psychiatric harm arising as a result of damage to property. To limit such cases to personal injury would not be ‘fair or convenient’ ([1988] QB 304, per Bingham LJ), nor was such a limitation justifiable as a matter of policy; the only substantive policy reason to reject liability in such circumstances was the fear of opening the ‘floodgates’ to a raft of unmeritorious claims, which the Court dismissed as unfounded. The case was thus remitted to trial for determination of the foreseeability question.

Cite This Work

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below:

Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.

Related Services

View all

Related Content

Jurisdictions / Tags

Content relating to: "UK Law"

UK law covers the laws and legislation of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Essays, case summaries, problem questions and dissertations here are relevant to law students from the United Kingdom and Great Britain, as well as students wishing to learn more about the UK legal system from overseas.

Related Articles