The Canterbury Hospital v Cappelletto

The Canterbury Hospital (the appellant) appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the District Court of New South Wales which had found in favour of Mr Cappelletto (the respondent). The dispute concerned the respondent's claim for damages for personal injuries sustained as a result of an alleged assault by a hospital orderly.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the hospital was vicariously liable for the actions of its employee, the orderly, who had allegedly assaulted the respondent. This involved determining whether the orderly's actions, if proven, were so disconnected from his employment duties as to fall outside the scope of his employment, thereby absolving the hospital of vicarious liability.

The Court of Appeal considered the established principles of vicarious liability, particularly the test of whether the employee's wrongful act was so closely connected with acts the employee was authorised to do that it could be considered an unauthorised mode of doing an authorised act. The Court found that the orderly's alleged assault was not merely an unauthorised mode of performing his duties, but rather a distinct act of personal misconduct that was not in any way connected with or incidental to the duties he was employed to perform. Consequently, the Court held that the hospital was not vicariously liable for the orderly's actions. The appeal was allowed, and the judgment of the District Court in favour of the respondent was set aside.