Watson v George

The plaintiff, Faith Dorothea Watson, brought an action in the Supreme Court of South Australia against the defendant, Daisy Burnice George, seeking damages and solatium for the death of her husband, John Joseph Alexander Watson. The deceased, a paying guest at the defendant's boarding house, died in the bathroom due to carbon-monoxide poisoning from a defective gas bath-heater. The High Court of Australia heard an appeal from the Supreme Court of South Australia's decision.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the defendant, as the proprietor of a boarding house, owed a duty of care to her paying guests regarding the safety of the premises, and specifically the bath-heater, and if so, whether she had breached that duty. The court was required to determine the nature and extent of the implied warranty owed by a boarding house proprietor to a paying guest concerning the condition of the premises and its fixtures, and whether the defects in the bath-heater, which led to the fatal accident, were discoverable through reasonable care and inspection.

The High Court affirmed the decision of the trial judge, holding that the proprietor of a boarding house impliedly warrants that reasonable care has been taken to maintain the premises, including fixtures like the bath-heater, in a reasonably fit and safe condition for the purposes for which they are used by paying guests. The court found that while the deceased was exposed to an unusual danger, the defendant had not breached her duty. The defects in the heater, a bulged water jacket and a blocked flue due to rust, were not apparent to the ordinary user and, crucially, there was no evidence that the defendant knew or ought to have known of these specific defects, nor was there a common practice or recommendation for periodic expert inspections of such appliances. The court concluded that the defendant had taken reasonable care in the circumstances and was not liable for the unforeseen combination of defects that caused the accident.