The wall had remained standing because the architect employed in supervising the building works had failed to advise that it was dangerous and should be demolished. So far I have not dealt with the question of reliance by Mr Watson on the exercise of care by the Board. The Board also argued that the nearest hospital with an Accident and Emergency Department was so close that a system which delayed the possibility of resuscitation for the few minutes that would be necessary to get to the hospital, was satisfactory. 44. 88. 60. ", 38. Thus it has been held that the prison service owes a duty of care to take reasonable steps to prevent prisoners from committing suicide. James George, James George. 110. 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. 103. I have not heard evidence to the effect that the Board or its medical advisers had before this incident considered, and for some reason decided not to follow, what may not unfairly be called this protocol. He should certainly carry an aphygomamometer and stethoscope, an ophthalmoscope, an auroscope, a patella hammer, a Brooks airway and a padded spatula in case of a rate occurrence of fitting and the need to establish an airway. The defendant company had a policy for achieving responsible gambling, . In its statutory context the ambulance service is more properly described as part of the National Health Service than as a rescue service. The other group of cases involved duties imposed on local authorities in relation to children with special educational needs. Mr Morris told the court that he would expect the Medical Committee, and its Chief Medical Officer, to keep abreast of developments in sports medicine that impacted on the safety of boxers in the ring. See Hedley Byrne & Co. Ltd. v Heller & Partners Ltd [1964] AC 465 and Henderson v Merrett Syndicates Ltd [1995] 2 AC 145. 6. 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. The Board contended that this was unjustifiable, since it would require Rules which in effect instructed doctors as to how to perform their duties. 7. 97. 20. Get 1 point on providing a valid sentiment to this The Board assumes the responsibility of determining the nature of the medical facilities and assistance to be provided. Ian Kennedy J. equated the formulation of rules and regulations with the giving of advice and these decisions are of relevance in this context. I found this submission unrealistic. 42. Held: The respondent had not assumed a general responsibility to all road users . 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. 21. The referee stopped the fight in the final round when Watson appeared to be unable to defend himself. In the first place the paramedic in the ambulance was not trained to use resuscitation equipment as a matter of course where a head injury was involved. Most boxers recover very quickly having been knocked down and counted out and most, in fact, are fully conscious, if somewhat dazed, by the time the count reaches ten. The relevant findings of the Judge were as follows:-. The Judge went on to review such statistical evidence as there was in relation to the frequency of occurrence of head injuries in boxing and observed that there had been no evidence to suggest that the Board considered and balanced the difficulty of providing the adequate response to the risks of head injury against their frequency of occurrence and severity of outcome. Watson v British Boxing Board of Control Ltd [2001] QB 1134 (CA) - BB was not insured but Court said it is irrelevant because a duty of care is decided regardless . 428 Nield J. drew a distinction between a casualty department of a hospital that closes its doors and says no patients can be received, in which case he would, by inference, have held there was no duty of care, and the case before him where the three watchmen, who had taken poison, entered the hospital and were given erroneous advice, where a duty of care arose. The claimant was seriously injured in a professional boxing match governed by rules established by the defendants rules. 72. The Board, however, arrogates to itself the task of determining what medical facilities will be provided at a contest by (i) requiring the boxer and the promoter to contract on terms under which the Board's Rules will apply and (ii) making provision in those Rules for the medical facilities and assistance to be provided to care for the boxer in the event of injury. c) The rule that if a fight is stopped by the referee or a boxer is counted out, the boxer's licence is suspended for at least 28 days and until the boxer is certified fit to box by a doctor. 107. 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. Without so doing, however, the Judge concluded that for some reason no thought was given to the practicality of introducing at the ringside what he found had been a standard response, where the presence of sub-dural bleeding was known or suspected, since at least 1980. Dr Whiteson did not give evidence. Mr Walker urged that a duty of care should not be imposed upon the Board because it was a non profit-making organisation and did not carry insurance. In such circumstances A's conduct can accurately be described as the assumption of responsibility for B, whether `responsibility' is given its lay or legal meaning. Michael Watson stands to receive no more than 400,000 compensation The settlement of Watson's case against the British Boxing Board of Control, approved by the High Court in London. Next Mr. Walker argued that if the Board had made its Rules pursuant to a statutory power it would be tolerably clear that it could not be held liable in negligence in relation to the manner in which it chose to exercise its discretion. The Judge's findings in relation to breach of duty appear from the following passages in his judgment: "The standard response where the presence of subdural bleeding is known or suspected has been agreed since at least 1980, which is to intubate, ventilate, sedate, paralyse, and in Britain at least, to administer Manitol. 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. 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. Ringside medical facilities were available, but did not provide immediate resuscitation. It is not possible to measure even on the balance of probabilities where the damage would have stopped if the protocol had been followed. Where there is a potential for physical injury, I do not believe that I have to go beyond the traditional concept of neighbourhood to find a duty where there is, as here, a clearly foreseeable danger. This contention had some similarities to submissions made in relation to the Popular Flying Association in Perrett v Collins. Interact directly with CaseMine users looking for advocates in your area of specialization. By the time he received resuscitation in hospital he had sustained permanent brain damage which such treatment would have prevented. 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. 24. They alleged that the local authorities had provided services under which, in one case, educational psychologists and, in the other, advisory teachers provided advice to teaching staff and parents as to whether children had special educational needs. The company, as the Popular Flying Association, appoint inspectors for the purpose of, among other things, inspecting aircraft during the course of their construction by members of the association and certifying whether the relevant work has been done to his "entire satisfaction" and the aircraft is in an airworthy condition. In 1991 there were only about 550 active boxers, of which almost all were semi-professional. 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. 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. Whilst unattended he vomited and died as a result of inhaling his own vomit. 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. I see no reason why the rules should not have contained the provision suggested by the Judge. Sharpe v Avery [1938] 4 All E.R. In these circumstances the Board should owe no greater duty of care than that imposed on a rescuer, that is a duty to exercise reasonable care not to make the situation worse, but no duty to reduce the damage that would have occurred in any event had the rescuer not intervened - see Capital and Counties plc v. Hampshire County Council. In his Witness Statement, Mr Morris accepted that the following averment in the Statement of Claim was "basically correct": "at all material times, by reason of the effective control over boxing that the Board assumed, the Board was in a position to determine, and did in fact determine, the measures that were taken in boxing to protect and promote the health and safety of boxers. The patient is then artificially ventilated through this tube with oxygen. At the hospital Mr Watson was given the conventional resuscitation procedure - that is intubation, ventilation, oxygen and an infusion of Manitol. But although the cases in which the courts have imposed or withheld liability are capable of an approximate categorisation, one looks in vain for some common denominator by which the existence of the essential relationship can be tested. 343, Denning L.J. 98. The peculiar features of the duty of care alleged are as follows: i) the duty alleged is not to take reasonable care to avoid causing personal injury. c) Rules governing bandaging for the hands and the composition of boxing gloves (Rules 3.22 and 3.23). 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.". 67. Similarly none of the particular difficulties which arise in relation to economic loss arise in relation to the causing of personal injury. The article examines this regulatory framework; where traditional attitudes about the social desirability of sport and acceptance of harm support an autonomous self-regulatory approach, often insulated from the full application of the criminal law. The child's parents will seldom be in a position to know whether the psychologist's advice was sound or not. These cases were distinguished in Kent v Griffiths [2000] 2 WLR 1158. Once this proximity exists, it ceases to be material what form the unreasonable conduct takes. Whenever they accept a patient for treatment, they must use reasonable care and skill to cure him of his ailment.". Instead he argued that even if resuscitation had been used, it would have been used too late to affect the outcome. The facilities provided accorded with the advice to medical officers issued by the Board's Medical Committee, to which I referred earlier. It is said, rightly, that in general such professional duty of care is owed irrespective of contract and can arise even where the professional assumes to act for the plaintiff pursuant to a contract with a third party: Henderson v Merrett Syndicates Ltd [1995] 2 AC 145; White v Jones [1995] 2 AC 207. While I do not agree with Mr Mackay's submission that Perrett v Collins provides a close analogy to the present case, I do find helpful the formulation of legal principle by Hobhouse L.J. An operation was carried out to remove a moderate size haematoma and to close such veins as were found to be oozing blood. 33. 84. I find this distinction between instructions as to duties and instructions as to how to perform duties elusive and over subtle. 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. 12. Lord Browne-Wilkinson answered this question in the affirmative. ii) The Board assumed responsibility for determining the details of the medical care and facilities which would be provided by way of immediate treatment of those who received personal injuries while taking part in the activity. These cases establish that where A advises B as to action to be taken which will directly and foreseeably affect the safety or well-being of C, a situation of sufficient proximity exists to found a duty of care on the part of A towards C. Whether in fact such a duty arises will depend upon the facts of the individual case and, in particular, upon whether such a duty of care would cut across any statutory scheme pursuant to which the advice was given. 106. We have been referred to no case where a duty of care has been established in relation to the drafting of rules and regulations which have governed the conduct of third parties towards a claimant. The first of these to enter the ring, Dr Shapiro, reached Mr Watson seven minutes after the fight had been stopped, i.e. In my judgment there is a difference in principle between making Rules and giving advice, but it is not one which assists the Board. Flashcards. Thus the Board was a body with special knowledge giving advice to a defined class of persons in the knowledge that it would rely upon that advice in the defined situation of boxing contests. I do not consider that a conscious reliance by the patient on the hospital to exercise care is an essential element in this duty of care. 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. can also be found in Watson v British Boxing Board of Control [2001] QB 1134 in which Lord Phillips MR's advice on dealing with analogous cases was to first identify the principles relied upon as giving rise to a duty of care in the present case. In Caparo v Dickman the Court recognised a duty of care owed by auditors to all the members of a company. The nature of that duty was recently considered by this Court in Capital and Counties PLC v. Hampshire C.C. A case that is instructive is the English case of Watson v British Boxing Board of Control ([2001] 2 WLR 1256), the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) was held liable for the injuries sustained by Michael Watson. Boxer members of the Board, including Mr Watson, could reasonably rely upon the Board to have taken reasonable care in making provision for their safety. Letang v Cooper - Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 - Watson v British Boxing Board of Control - Bernstein of Leigh v Skyviews & General Ltd -. 75. True it is that, in the absence of a statutory power or duty, the authority could not offer such a service. The time was now 23.08. It much have been in the contemplation of the architect that builders would go on the site as the whole object of the work was to erect building there. 1 result for "watson v british boxing board of control 2001" hide this ad. The phrase means simply that the law recognises that there is a duty of care. considered the question of whether it was fair and reasonable to impose a duty of care. In 1989 it was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee. Watson v British Boxing Board of Control (2001). These rules included provisions for medical inspection of boxers and for the attendance of two doctors at a fight. The occurrence of a haematoma could not have been prevented but its effects could have been mitigated. (Rule 5.9(c)). Another example was a general direction given, at about the same time, that an ambulance and crew should be in attendance at a boxing contest. His evidence was that it was his practice to use it where a patient was experiencing breathing difficulties. It was also important to have a prior arrangement with the hospital with a neurological unit, and with that unit placed on standby. 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. By this time, however, he had sustained serious brain damage. He would thus have developed the subdural haemorrhage in the most favourable circumstances possible, short of doing so in hospital with staff around him. But the claimant does not come even remotely . In the chaos that then ensued, Mr Watson was surrounded by his team, which included a number of bodyguards. "If the protocol had been in place, and Dr Shapiro had been required to go straight to the ring, he would have begun the necessary procedures within a minute or two of the collapse and so by 23.00. After the operation Mr Watson was taken to the intensive care unit where he arrived at 04.45. This sequence can result in cumulative damage to the brain, leading sooner or later to death. In Clay v. Crump & Sons Ltd [1964] 1 QB 133 a building worker was injured when a wall collapsed on him. The British Boxing Board of Control have confirmed they are moving their base to Cardiff from London. 83. 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. The body set up by the Board that gave particular consideration to safety standards was a Medical Committee, sometimes referred to as The Medical Panel, that was set up in 1950. The Judge accepted that this was the case but ruled that in the final analysis that it was for the Court to determine whether even the most widely followed practice was acceptable. This has relevance to a number of the points discussed above. [1997] QB 1004 at 1034. I now come to the second special feature of this case - the fact that the Board is not charged with having failed itself to provide appropriate medical treatment, but with having failed to impose rules and regulations which would have ensured that others did so. Mr Walker also suggested that a finding in favour of Mr Watson in this case would involve postulating that other sporting regulatory bodies, such as the Rugby Football Union, owed duties of care to the participants in their sports in relation to their rules and regulations.