Practice questions 269n The rule in Rylands vFletcher imposes strict liability if a person brings a non-natural
thing onto his or her land and that thing escapes and causes damage.
n Trespass to land is a direct, unauthorised interference with another person’s land.
n Trespass to the person can consist of battery, assault or false imprisonment.
n Trespass to goods is committed by dealing with goods in a manner which is incon-
sistent with the right of someone else to possess the goods.
n Defamation is committed by publishing a statement which lowers the claimant in the
estimation of right-thinking people generally or causes the claimant to be shunned
and avoided.
n Employers are vicariously liable for torts committed by their employees during the
course of their employment.
Practice questions
1 A manufacturer of chemicals has committed the following torts.
Tort 1 –The manufacturer left an uncovered pool of lethal chemical near a broken down
fence. Young children broke through the fence and were killed by exposure to the chemical.
Tort 2– The manufacturer deposited large quantities of stones and soil on the land of a
neighbouring manufacturer.
Tort 3– The manufacturer’s premises emitted noxious fumes which caused injury to a local
farmer’s sheep.
Tort 4– One of the manufacturer’s lorry drivers spilt oil on a main road, whilst driving badly,
causing a car following behind to crash.
Tort 5– Several barrels of highly toxic chemicals rolled downhill out of the manufacturer’s
premises and onto a farmer’s field, causing damage to crops.
Tort 6– The manufacturer blocked the highway leading to a remote farm so that the farmer
was unable to deliver his milk to his main customer.
Decide which tort has been committed in each case and outline the essential requirements
of the torts in question. (You may need to look at the torts covered in the previous chapter.)2 Parveen, a chemistry teacher, is employed by her local authority. Would the local authority
be liable for the following?
(a) During a laboratory experiment, Parveen overheats some chemicals and causes a small
explosion which injures several students.
(b) Parveen injures a pedestrian when reversing out of the school car park to visit a student
on work experience.
(c) Parveen injures a pedestrian when reversing out of a city centre car park on Saturday
afternoon.
(d) Noticing that there is no electricity in the laboratory, Parveen switches on the supply at
the main fuse box. This causes injury to an electrician, who had cut off the supply so that
he could check the wiring. All of the teachers had been warned that the electrician would
need to disconnect the electricity but Parveen had forgotten.