A man in charge of an obstacle course in a Swansea activity centre has been found liable for the injury of a Scout leader attempting to navigate the course. The case of Robert Bernard Wilson v GP Haden found the instructor responsible for not adequately showing participants how to complete a section of the course.
Robert Bernard Wilson v GP Haden
Case Details
A Scout leader and a group of Scouts visited an activity centre to participate in their obstacle course. While attempting to complete the obstacle course on a wet and rainy day, the Scout leader fell a number of feet while trying to slide down one of the obstacles (a fireman’s pole). This fall resulted in a spinal fracture leaving him in need of an operation to help fix the damage.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require a risk assessment of each obstacle, which had been done by the centre in question. The instructor was also given information about how to correctly oversee the completion of the course by the visitors. The assessment which had been earlier carried out detailed that the individual in charge must not only show participants how to use the fireman’s pole, but also must supervise each participant as they use the obstacle.
The Scout leader’s claim was based on the allegation that the instructor had not performed the required measures when showing and advising the participants of how to use the pole safely.
The opinion of the Court
As a result of the centre recognising the fireman’s pole as a risk, especially due to the weather that day, and the centre’s notes that instructors should show the technique needed to navigate the pole, it was ruled that the instructor would have been required to demonstrate the correct use of the pole. It was as a result of ignoring these documents and believing the fireman’s pole was too easy for participants to use to need his help, that the instructor was liable for the subsequent harm to the injured party.
A sum of £167,514 was compensated to the scout leader.
How Nelsons Can Help
Health and safety at work is extremely important and risk assessments are a compulsory part of keeping you safe from injury or harm. Inability to stick to these requirements and the tasks they may require you to perform, may lead to an individual receiving serious harm or injuries.
If you have any questions in relation to the topics discussed in this article, please contact our expert Personal Injury team in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.