Waters v Public Transport Corporation

The High Court of Australia considered the appeal in *Waters v Public Transport Corporation*. The case concerned a claim for damages for personal injury brought by the appellant, Mr Waters, against the respondent, the Public Transport Corporation, arising from an incident where Mr Waters was injured while attempting to board a train.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the respondent owed a duty of care to Mr Waters in the circumstances of his boarding the train, and if so, whether that duty had been breached. The Court was required to determine the scope of the duty of care owed by a public transport provider to its passengers, particularly in relation to the risks associated with boarding moving trains.

The High Court, in a joint judgment, held that the respondent did owe a duty of care to Mr Waters. This duty extended to taking reasonable steps to prevent passengers from boarding trains that were in the process of departing. The Court reasoned that the risk of injury to passengers attempting to board a moving train was foreseeable, and that the respondent had the capacity to take reasonable precautions to mitigate this risk, such as ensuring trains did not depart until passengers had safely boarded. The principles of negligence, as established in common law, were applied to assess the reasonableness of the respondent's conduct in the circumstances.

The High Court allowed the appeal, finding that the respondent had breached its duty of care to Mr Waters and was therefore liable for his injuries.