It was impossible to show whether this was caused by dust from the hammer or dust escaping from own hammer, or from using the factory’s hammer. (H.L.) In-house law team. The main judgement of the House was given by Lord Reid. I do not think so. However, it was common for the extraction system to become blocked causing dust to escape into the atmosphere. In order for the employer to be liable, the statutory breach must be shown to have caused the pneumoconiosis. VAT Registration No: 842417633. Disclaimer: This work was produced by one of our expert legal writers, as a learning aid to help law students with their studies. The first issue concerned the applicable standard of proof concerning the employer’s fault as well as to which party bears the onus of proof. On the facts of this case, the Court held that the Employer’s breached their statutory duties under the 1925 Regulations, and that the consequent noxious dust did in fact materially contribute to the employee’s contracting of pneumoconiosis. The onus and standard of proof in personal injury claims for an employer’s breach of statutory duty. Bonnington castings ltd v Wardlaw - material contribution. However, they also went on to decide that “the sources of the disease was the dust from both sources” ( i.e. The Bonnington test In Bonnington Castings v Wardlaw 1 All ER 615 the claimant worked in a factory where he was exposed to silica dust. BONNINGTON CASTINGS LIMITED v. WARDLAW Viscount Simonds 1st March, 1956 my lords, I have had the advantage of reading the Opinion which my noble and learned friend, Lord Reid, is about to deliver and I agree with it in all respects. ViscountSimonds Lord Reid Lord Tucker LordKeith ofAvonholm Lord Somervellof Harrow HOUSE OF LORDS BONNINGTON CASTINGS LIMITED v.WARDLAW Viscount Simonds 1st March, 1956 my lords, I have had the advantage of reading the Opinion which my noble andlearned friend, Lord Reid, is about to deliver and I agree with it in allrespects. In Bonnington Castings Ltd v Wardlaw, the House of Lords held the defendant was liable to the full extent for the claimant’s harm where their negligence was one of a number of sources of the damage but materially contributed to the injury. Bonnington Castings v Wardlaw AC 613 The onus and standard of proof in personal injury claims for an employer’s breach of statutory duty. Registered Data Controller No: Z1821391. Here, a steel dresser contracted pneumoconiosis following exposure to silica dust from both a pneumatic hammer and swing grinders. The House of Lords unanimously held that Bonnington Castings Ltd materially contributed to the harm. This falls outside the de minimis range and is therefore a material contribution: Bonnington Castings, Ltd. v. Wardlaw, supra. Wardlaw worked in the defendant’s dressing shop for eight years. Copyright © 2003 - 2020 - LawTeacher is a trading name of All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. She assessed this contribution at 25 percent. In these circumstances, the correct question was whether the dust from the swing grinders had “materially contributed” to the injury. In Lord Reid’s words: It appears to me that the source of his disease was the dust from both sources, and the real question is whether the dust from the swing grinders materially contributed to the disease. The earliest authority on material contribution is Bonnington Castings Ltd v Wardlaw AC 613. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! *You can also browse our support articles here >. Similarly, there was no known mask or respirator which would have protected the workers from inhaling the dust. The employer had neglected to ensure that the dust-grinders were compliant with Reg 1 of the Grinding of Metals (Miscellaneous Industries) Regulations 1925, leading to noxious dust containing minute silica particles. Case Summary Registered office: Venture House, Cross Street, Arnold, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG5 7PJ. J o h n Harkness Wardlaw, the respondent, claimed damages from Bonnington Castings Ltd., the appellants, for the contrac tion by him of the disease of pneumoconiosis, which it was eventually admitted by the appellants had been contracted while Any information contained in this case summary does not constitute legal advice and should be treated as educational content only. The only requirement is that, whoever is sued must have made a material contribution to the loss or damage suffered (see Bonnington Castings Ltd v. Wardlaw). The defendant was in breach of a statutory duty in failing to provide an extractor fan. The dust which he had inhaled came from two sources. The Defendant was in breach of statutory duty in failing to provide an extractor fan. Bonnington Castings Ltd v Wardlaw AC 613 House of Lords The claimant contracted pneumoconiosis by inhaling air which contained minute particles of silica during the course of his employment. They defended on the basis that it was inevitable he would be … The PC considered Bonnington Castings Ltd v Wardlaw [1956] AC 613 where the House of Lords had held that the burden was on the employee to prove that the breach of duty had helped to produce the pneumoconiosis in the Claimant. We also have a number of sample law papers, each written to a specific grade, to illustrate the work delivered by our academic services. 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