Ward v Tesco Stores Ltd [1976] 1 WLR 810, is an English tort law

English tort law

English tort law concerns civil wrongs, as distinguished from criminal wrongs, in the law of England and Wales. Some wrongs are the concern of the state, and so the police can enforce the law on the wrongdoers in court – in a criminal case...

 case concerning the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur

Res ipsa loquitur

In the common law of negligence, the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur states that the elements of duty of care and breach can be sometimes inferred from the very nature of an accident or other outcome, even without direct evidence of how any defendant behaved...

("the thing speaks for itself"). It deals with the law of negligence

Negligence

Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...

 and it set an important precedent in so called "trip and slip" cases which are a common occurrence. Under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957

Occupiers' Liability Act 1957

The Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that covers occupiers' liability. The result of the Third Report of the Law Reform Committee, the Act was introduced to Parliament as the Occupiers' Liability Bill and granted the Royal Assent on 6 June 1957,...

, owners of premises have a duty to ensure that it is reasonably safe for visitors. Therefore when an accident occurs because premises are not reasonably safe, the occupier of the premises may be liable to pay compensation for any injuries. The decision in this case puts the burden of proof on the occupier to show that he was not negligent.

Facts

The plaintiff slipped on some pink yoghurt in a Tesco

Tesco

Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

 store in Smithdown Road

Smithdown Road, Liverpool

Smithdown Road is a street in Liverpool, England, which forms part of the A562. It is the location of Toxteth Park Cemetery and Wavertree Playground. Penny Lane junction, the subject of The Beatles song Penny Lane, is situated at the junction of Smithdown Road, Smithdown Place and Penny Lane...

, Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

. It was not clear whether or not Tesco staff were to blame for the spillage. It could have been another customer, or the wind, or anything else. Spillages happened roughly 10 times a week and staff had standing orders to clean anything up straight away. As Lawton LJ observed in his judgment,
The trial judge had held in Mrs Ward's favour and she was awarded £137.50 in damages. Tesco appealed.

Judgment

It was held by a majority (Lawton LJ and Megaw LJ) that even though it could not be said exactly what happened, the pink yoghurt being spilled spoke for itself as to who was to blame. Tesco was required to pay compensation. The plaintiff did not need to prove how long the spill had been there, because the burden of proof was on Tesco. Lawton LJ's judgment explained the previous case law, starting with Richards v WF White & Co [1957] 1 Lloyd's Rep.

Dissent

Omrod LJ disagreed with Lawton LJ and Megaw LJ on the basis that Tesco did not seem to have been able to do anything to have prevented the accident. He argued that they did not fail to take reasonable care, and in his words, the accident "could clearly have happened no matter what degree of care these defendants had taken."