The Judge held that it was the duty of the Board, and of those advising it on medical matters, to be prospective in their thinking and to seek competent advice as to how a recognised danger could best be combated. The comparison drawn by Mr Walker between the Board and a rescuer is not apt. The aircraft crashed and the Plaintiff sustained personal injuries. Mr Watson brought an action against the Board. 3.5.2 For British and Commonwealth Championship contests only, or 122. had not been responsible for the claimant's asthma but it had caused the respiratory arrest and to this extent the L.A.S was the author of additional damage.". 7. In delivering the leading speech Lord Browne-Wilkinson observed at p.739: "The question whether there is such a common law duty and if so its ambit, must be profoundly influenced by the statutory framework within which the acts complained of were done.". They also argued that it was not fair, just and reasonable that the PFA should be liable to negligence. There is no more justification for a blanket immunity in their cases than there was in Capital & Counties Plc v Hampshire Country Council [1997] QB 1004. But the fact that the carrying out of the retainer involves contact with and relationship with the child cannot alter the extent of the duty owed by the professionals under the retainer from the local authority. 72. The role of Mr Usherwood was distinct and independent from the role of the constructor of the plane. In support of that proposition Mr. Walker relied upon X v Bedfordshire CC and Stovin v Wise [1996] AC 923. In a Witness Statement in the present proceedings, Mr Watson stated that this accorded with his understanding as a boxer that the Board undertook responsibility for all the medical aspects of boxing, including the medical supervision of boxing contests, in the United Kingdom. Michael Watson was injured in a boxing match supervised by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC or BBBC), which was expected to . Mr Walker accepted that if Mr Watson had specifically asked the Board for advice as to the precautions that he ought to have in place for his fight, and the Board had given advice, the Board would have been under a duty to exercise care in giving that advice. The background to this case was described by Hobhouse L.J. Thus the criteria identified by Hobhouse L.J. 78. It was accepted that, if the survey had been negligent the loss of the cargo was a foreseeable consequence. Mr Morris, commenting in his Witness Statement on the Statement of Claim, stated: "We do collaborate with the medical profession, indeed we believe that our Rules are as good as currently can be devised, taking into account the medical interests of the boxers, and the requirements of the sport itself. Mr Watson collapsed unconscious within a minute or so of this. The diagnosis is hopelessly wrong. However, should this not be so, then the boxer's gumshield should be removed, an adequate airway established and the boxer put on his left side so that should he fit or vomit he will not obstruct his airway. The latter have the role of protecting the public in general against risks, which they play no part in creating. 20. The essence of Mr Watson's case is that there should have been a system under which such equipment would not merely be available, but used immediately in the event of a brain injury. It acts as a regulatory rule making body. There was chaos in and outside the ring and seven minutes elapsed before he was examined by one of the doctors who were in attendance. 69. Indirect Influence on the Occurrence of Injury. The Board's Medical Committee met to consider these on the 22nd October 1991 and made recommendations which included the following: "1 The nearest hospital with a neurological unit should be notified of the date of each tournament held under the Board's jurisdiction and must be on alert in case of serious head injury. Mr Watson suffered some, at least, of these secondary effects, which were the cause of his permanent brain damage. It has the ability to require of promoters what it sees as good practice. The Law Commission in its 1994 Consultation Paper No.134 "Criminal Law: Consent and Offences Against the Person" recognised that boxing was an anomaly in English law. The professionals were employed or retained to advise the local authority in relation to the well being of the plaintiffs but not to advise or treat the plaintiffs". Serious brain damage such as that suffered by Mr Watson, though happily an uncommon consequence of a boxing injury, represented the most serious risk posed by the sport and one that required to be addressed. (Rule 8.1). A little later he said "As Chief Medical Officer, my approach has always been that preventative controls are the key to making a physically hazardous sport as safe as possibleour interest in preventative controls covers the whole gamut of professional boxing.". In laying down Rules for the benefit of boxers generally, however, Mr Walker submitted that the Board was under no duty of care. The most obvious category of case of a duty of care to administer medical treatment to restrict the consequences of injury or illness, or to effect a cure, is that of the duty owed by a doctor or a hospital authority to a patient. The Court of Appeal drew a correct analogy with the doctor instructed by an insurance company to examine an applicant for the life insurance. I consider that the Judge was entitled to conclude that there was in this case reliance by Mr Watson on the exercise of skill and care by the Board in looking after his safety. In any event, option B was the one that was undertaken. The Board held itself out as treating the safety of boxers as of paramount importance. He emphasised that the Board does not provide medical treatment or employ doctors. It does not follow that the decision in this case is the thin end of a wedge. I think that the Judge was right. As already mentioned the referee is in sole charge of the contest, but if a boxer is counted out and fails to rise it is the doctor's duty to get into the ring as quickly as possible and institute emergency treatment should this be required. An ambulance should be on site from the start of the tournament, possibly with a crew of trained para-medics. There was a contrast with a fire or a crime, where an unlimited number of members of the public could be affected and the damage could be to property or only economic. 343, Denning L.J. Any such inspector has to be approved by the association". Watson v British Boxing Board of Control [2001] QB 1134 was a case of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales that established an exception to the defence of consent to trespass to the person and an extension of the duty of care expected in cases of negligence. He would only use it to overcome breathing difficulties. While Buxton L.J. On the evidence I consider that the Judge was entitled to find that, even if resuscitation had not been commenced until after help was summoned, it would probably have resulted in a significantly better outcome for Mr Watson. Boxing could not, however, have survived as a legal sport without strict regulation, one aim of which is to limit the injuries inflicted in the ring. While it is difficult, or perhaps impossible, to avoid a degree of subjectivity when considering what is fair, just and reasonable, the approach must be to apply established principles and standards. In 1991 its income was some 314,000 of which some 51,000 represented licence and application fees and about 224,000 `tournament tax', which I understand to represent a small percentage of the takings at boxing tournaments. Thus boxers, promoters, managers, referees, time-keepers, trainers, seconds, masters of ceremonies, match-makers, agents for overseas boxers, ringmasters and whips all have to be licensed by the Board to perform their particular functions and become, when granted their licences, members of the Board. Had the Board simply given advice to all involved in professional boxing as to appropriate medical precautions, it would be strongly arguable that there was insufficient proximity between the Board and individual boxers to give rise to a duty of care. 53. This involves intubation, or the insertion of an endotracheal tube. It is not necessary for a supposed tortfeasor to have created the danger himself. that the negligence alleged fell into the category of directly causing foreseeable personal injury, both he and Swinton Thomas L.J. Michael Watson was a boxer who, on 21 September 1991, fought Chris Eubank under the supervision of the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC), the British professional boxing governing body. The defendant company had a policy for achieving responsible gambling, . The psychologist sees the child and carries out an assessment. But it has never been a requirement of the law of the tort of negligence that there be a particular antecedent relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff other than one that the plaintiff belongs to a class which the defendant contemplates or should contemplate would be affected by his conduct. The Kit Fox aircraft is an aircraft which is designed for this purpose. ii) to identify any categories of cases in which these principles have given rise to a duty of care, or conversely where they have not done so. Explore the crossword clues and related quizzes to this answer. rejected the submission that any negligence on the part of Mr Usherwood was only an indirect cause of the crash. Next the Board attacked the implicit finding of the Judge that the Rules should have required the doctor to enter the ring as soon as a boxer was counted out or deemed unfit to defend himself. It was a matter for Mr Watson to choose whether or not to compete subject to the Board's rules. The position is directly analogous with a hospital conducted, formerly by a local authority now by a health authority, in exercise of statutory powers. The request for an ambulance was accepted. The Board's Medical Committee had issued detailed advice to Medical Officers in relation to their duty at the ringside which was in force at the time of the Watson/Eubank fight. This decision turned, essentially, on considerations of policy in relation to the role of a classification society in the context of the complex arrangements for sharing, limiting and insuring the risks inherent in carriage of goods by sea. By the time he received resuscitation in hospital he had sustained permanent brain damage which such treatment would have prevented. The Board professes - I do not for one moment question its sincerity - its lively interest in his safety. 127. 50. In the leading speech Lord Slynn advanced the following statement of principle at pp.790-1: "As to the first question, it is long and well-established, now elementary, that persons exercising a particular skill or profession may owe a duty of care in the performance to people who it can be foreseen will be injured if due skill and care are not exercised, and if injury or damage can be shown to have been caused by the lack of care. In accordance with normal practice, the medical officers for the contest were nominated by the Southern Area Council. Obviously a full report should then be sent to the relevant Area Council or Board and the sooner this is done, from a medical view point, the better.". 8. 15. held at p.557: "Is this a case in which it can be said that the plaintiff was closely and directly affected by the acts of the architect as to have been reasonably in his contemplation when he was directing his mind to the acts or omissions which are called into question? .Cited Geary v JD Wetherspoon Plc QBD 14-Jun-2011 The claimant, attempting to slide down the banisters at the defendants premises, fell 4 metres suffering severe injury. radio Match. Capital and Counties plc v. Hampshire County Council, Hotson v East Berkshire Area Health Authority. I confess I entertain no doubt on how that question should be answered. (Rules 8.5 and 8.6). In support of that proposition Mr. Walker relied upon, 79. IMPORTANT:This site reports and summarizes cases. Ringside medical facilities were available, but did not provide immediate resuscitation. Ormrod L.J. They did not have the expertise in providing such resuscitation; nor did they have the necessary equipment. Nearly half an hour elapsed between the end of the fight and the time that he got there. My reaction is the same as that of Buxton L.J. The Board has argued that until this accident no-one had suggested that they should institute this protocol. First he submitted that the Board exercises a public function which it has assumed for the public good. The Board encouraged and supported its boxing members in the pursuit of an activity which involved inevitable physical injury and the need for medical precautions against the consequences of such injury. Watson claimed that the British Boxing Board of Control had been under a duty of care to ensure that all reasonable steps were taken to provide immediate and effective medical attention and treatment in the event of his sustaining an injury, and he argued that the Board had breached that duty by not providing resuscitation treatment at ringside. First, Watson is apparently the first reported case in which the English 109. The boxers display skill, strength and courage, but nobody pretends that they do good to themselves or others. 28. This would mean an appointment of a Senior Medical officer specifically for the major event and then two other doctors on duty to ensure that there were always two doctors at the ringside while a major contest was taking place.". A defendant seeking to disturb the findings of fact of a trial Judge in relation to causation undertakes a hard task. Heaven v Pender (1883) 11 Q.B.D. The Board's assumption of responsibility in relation to medical care probably relieved the promoter of such responsibility. These facts produced a relationship of close proximity between the Board and those of its members who were professional boxers. This ground of appeal would have been unsustainable. It is a duty to take reasonable care to ensure that personal injuries already sustained are properly treated. 103. Each area had a Chief Medical Officer, whose duties included the approval of doctors who wished to serve as medical officers at boxing matches. . Establish an accurate diagnosis as to the intracranial pathology. Thereafter, when the defendant assumed responsibility for him, it accepts that the measures taken fell short of the standard reasonably to be expected. In my judgment there is a clear distinction between the role of the Board and the role of a fire service or the police service. On 21st September 1991 Michael Watson fought Chris Eubank for the World Boxing Organisation Super-Middleweight title at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club in London. Mr Watson belonged to a class which was within the contemplation of the Board. 25. He gave evidence that he agreed with Mr Hamlyn's views. Questioned further by the Judge, he agreed that to the best of his recollection, there was no discussion during the 1980's about whether the practice of stabilising victims of head injuries at the scene of the event, should be applied to the sport of Boxing. 133. I would simply comment that if the Board were given the statutory function of directing what medical assistance should be provided to boxers at the stadium, I consider that it would be at least arguable that they owed boxers a duty of care in exercising that function. contains alphabet). The Articles of Association of the Board provide that its objects include: "To promote and safeguard the interests of members of the company in the United Kingdom and throughout the world including members' (being boxers) interests in boxing contests and tournaments.including..the encouragement. This reasoning was followed by the House of Lords in Phelps v Hillingdon Borough Council [2000] 3 WLR 776. In my judgment there is a difference in principle between making Rules and giving advice, but it is not one which assists the Board. "It is these sorts of accidents which provoke the changes". 47. The BBBC had a series of rules on the medical coverage needed for boxing matches, which required two doctors to be present at all times. 8. He said that a report had identified the risks. . The broad function of the Board is to support professional boxing. at p.258 as follows: "The third defendants are a trading company incorporated under the companies Acts. d) The rule that a boxer must be medically examined before every contest. Rule 23 of the Board's rules and regulations provided: "23.1 Commonwealth, European and World Championships when promoted in Great Britain and Northern Ireland must be organised and controlled in accordance with the Regulations of the BBB of C except where such Regulations may be at variance with those of any Commonwealth, European or World Boxing Authorities with whom the BBC of C may for the time being be affiliated, when the Regulations of such Authorities shall apply. Caring for the needs of boxers, and in particular the physical safety of boxers, is the primary object of the Board. 108. In his Witness Statement Mr John Morris, General Secretary of the Board said "The Board believes as I do, that the safety of the boxers is of great importance and takes precedence over commercial and other interests". Test. He added : "If the plaintiff has been negligently injured by a failing by the PFA, I cannot see that it would be right to withhold relief from him simply on the ground that to grant that relief might cause a rise in the PFA's insurance premiums, or even cause a more expensive system of inspection to be substituted for that of the PFA.". 49. Attempts have been made, within Parliament and outside, to bring about the banning of the sport of boxing. In this way the Board reduces this aspect of the promoter's responsibility to the boxer to the contractual obligation to comply with the requirements of the Board's Rules in relation to the provision of medical facilities and assistance. 11. 112. 63. depending upon the court's attitude to the case before it. "Here all that is clear is that on the balance of probabilities the Claimant's present state would have been materially better than it actually is. This stated that the Board was accepted as being the sole controlling body regulating professional boxing in the United Kingdom and stressed the importance that the Board place on ensuring the safety of boxers. The Judge referred (Transcript p.17) to the question of whether to attach a duty of care to the facts of the present case would be an acceptable incremental extension of established liabilities, or too long a step. 35. Mr Block, the Secretary of the Board's Southern Area Council, reported to the Board that the arrangements in place were satisfactory and that the tournament could receive the Board's approval. Watson v British Boxing Board of Control: Negligent Rule-Making in the Court of Appeal. In my judgment, there must be an affirmative answer to that question. 95. 113. It is not so much that responsibility is assumed as that it is recognised or imposed by the law.". Michael Watson was injured in a boxing match supervised by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC or BBBC), which was expected to provide medical care. Michael Watson MBE, born 15 March 1965, is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1984-1991. Lord Woolf M.R. These considerations lead to the final point made by Mr Walker in the context of proximity. The cases linked on your profile facilitate Casemine's artificial intelligence engine in recommending you to potential clients who might be interested in availing your services for similar matters. Therefore in giving that advice he owes a duty to the child to exercise the skill and care of a reasonable advisory teacher.". The propeller was mismatched to the gearbox. In particular they are boxers. In Marc Rich & Co v. Bishop Rock Ltd [1996] AC 211 a classification surveyor had surveyed a vessel laden with cargo and given it a clean bill of health.
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