Citation(s) [1972] NZLR 542 Location New Zealand | End date 1972 Judge sitting David Beattie | |
 | ||
Full case name Hawke's Bay Motor Company Limited v Russell Ruling court | ||
Hawke's Bay Motor Co Ltd v Russell [1972] NZLR 542 is a cited case in New Zealand regarding liability in negligence, and the legal concept of res ipsa loquitur
Contents
Background
A bus owned by Hawkes Bay Motor Company was struck on a bend in a road by a car driven on the wrong side of the road by Russell. They later sued Russell for the cost of the damage, to which Russell successfully defended on the basis that he had blacked out due to a medical condition.
HBMC appealed that under res ipsa loquitur, that due to the facts here, the onus of proof should be of Russell to prove the medical condition.
Held
The court ruled that this doctrine did not apply here.
References
Hawke's Bay Motor Co Ltd v Russell Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA