Hemsley v Lindsay

Hemsley v Lindsay was a case before the Supreme Court of Queensland in which the plaintiff, Hemsley, sought damages from the defendants, Lindsay, for injuries sustained by her daughter in an explosion caused by petrol fumes. The incident occurred when the daughter used the laundry facilities provided by the defendants, who were the landlords. The petrol, which had been spilt by another tenant, was ignited by the flame of a heater, causing a severe burn to the daughter. The heater's pilot light cover was found to be defective and unattached at the time of the incident.

The primary legal issues in the case were whether the landlords were negligent in providing the laundry facilities and whether their negligence contributed to the daughter's injuries. Specifically, the court needed to determine if the landlords could have foreseen the risk of such an explosion and whether the unattached pilot light cover was a factor that could have delayed the ignition, potentially allowing for rescue. The court also had to consider the nature of the danger and whether it was foreseeable under the circumstances.

The court found that the landlords were not liable for the daughter's injuries. It was held that the nature of the risk was such that the explosion was inevitable once the petrol came into contact with the heater flame. The court reasoned that the unattached pilot light cover, while a defect, did not affect the foreseeability of the risk of explosion. The court concluded that the landlords could not have foreseen the exact timing of the ignition, and therefore, the unattached cover did not make the explosion more likely or delay it in a way that would have allowed for rescue. The nature of the danger, being the volatile combination of petrol fumes and an open flame, was deemed foreseeable, but the specific sequence of events leading to the explosion was not.

The court ordered that the plaintiffs' claim be dismissed, with no liability found on the part of the defendants.