Yildirim v Ford

The appellant, Mr. Yildirim, sustained injuries when a brick wall collapsed onto him while he was unloading a truck in an adjacent street. He brought proceedings against the respondent, Ford, alleging negligence. The primary judge found in favour of Ford, and Mr. Yildirim appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge had erred in her findings of fact, specifically concerning whether the wall possessed a patent defect and whether it had an outward lean. The appellant also sought to rely on the doctrine of *res ipsa loquitur* (the thing speaks for itself) to establish negligence.

The Court of Appeal upheld the primary judge's findings of fact. It was determined that there was no evidence of a patent defect in the wall that would have been discoverable by reasonable inspection. Furthermore, the evidence did not establish that the wall had an outward lean prior to its collapse. The court found that the doctrine of *res ipsa loquitur* was not applicable in these circumstances, as the cause of the collapse was not sufficiently established to infer negligence on the part of the respondent.

The appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs.