Lougheed v On The Beach Limited [2014] EWCA Civ 1538

CASE DIGEST

On the morning of 16 August 2009, Mrs Lougheed slipped and fell down a flight of polished granite steps whilst at a hotel on holiday in Spain. Mrs Lougheed was holding the handrail with one hand when she slipped on water located on the steps. The steps also had non-slip grooves cut into them. 

Mrs Lougheed incurred injury. She brought a claim against the organizer of the package holiday, On The Beach Limited, under The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. 

Mrs Lougheed was successful at first instance and was awarded £30,000 in damages. On The Beach Limited appealed on the grounds that the Claimant had failed to adduce evidence of local standards and that the judge: 

• Wrongly relied on evidence of the hotel as evidence of local standards. 
• Was wrong in law to find that the Defendant bears any evidential burden of proof in cases of this nature. 

The Appellant and Respondent were both unsuccessful in their applications to rely on expert evidence at the appeal hearing. 

Tomlinson LJ distinguished Ward v Tesco Stores Ltd [1976] 1 WLR 810 on the grounds that there was no finding that the spillage or presence of water was likely in this area. Whilst water on the stairs was foreseeable, it was necessary to establish that the hotel knew of the likelihood of a dangerous situation arising. There was no evidence that it was a known likely risk that water collected on the stairs or that people slipped on the stairs. 

Tomlinson LJ stated that On The Beach Limited did not have an evidential burden to show that the hotel knew of the likely risk of water collecting on the stairs and the danger it posed to persons using them. The Defendant admitted at trial it knew of the danger it posed to users of the stairs, but the trial judge did not find that the hotel knew of the likely risk of water collecting on the stairs. For that reason, the judge allowed the appeal and dismissed the claim.

In respect of ground 1 of appeal, Tomlinson LJ stated that a claimant who chooses not to adduce [expert evidence of local standards "does so at their peril". He conceded that it might be possible to provide evidence of the local standard in some other way, it is always for the Claimant to adduce this evidence, and ordinarily in the form of a Part 35 compliant expert report. 

The approach taken in Lougheed has since been confirmed by the case of Philip James Clay v TUI (UK) Limited [2018] EWCA Civ 117; although it is understood the Claimant has applied for permission to appeal.  

References

Lougheed v On The Beach Limited [2014] EWCA Civ 1538. Available at https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2014/1538 accessed 22 December 2022. 

Citation. Jacklin, D. 2022. Lougheed v On The Beach Limited [2014] EWCA Civ 1538. Water Incident Research Hub, 22 December.