Bonnington Castings Ltd v Wardlaw

Ratio Decidendi

Fapte

Wardlaw contracted pneumoconiosis from inhaling silica dust at work. The dust came from two sources: swing grinders (for which adequate extraction was not provided, in breach of duty) and pneumatic hammers (for which there was no known precaution). Both sources contributed to the disease.

Rezumatul hotărârii

The House of Lords held the employer liable for the workman's pneumoconiosis. The disease was caused by the gradual accumulation of silica dust inhaled from two sources — the pneumatic hammers, for which there was no known means of prevention and hence no breach, and the swing grinders, for which the employer had negligently failed to provide adequate dust extraction. Because the disease was the product of cumulative exposure, it was enough for the pursuer to show that the dust from the negligent source (the swing grinders) had made a material contribution to the injury; he did not have to prove that it was the sole, or even the main, cause, nor to quantify precisely how much came from each source. Lord Reid held that a contribution is 'material' if it is more than de minimis. Since the guilty dust had materially contributed to the disease, the employer was liable for the whole of it. The case is the leading authority on material contribution to injury, and is to be distinguished from the later 'material contribution to risk' cases such as McGhee and Fairchild.

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