Alexandrou v Oxford [1993] 4 All ER 328, EWCA
Citation:Alexandrou v Oxford [1993] 4 All ER 328, EWCA
Rule of thumb: Did the Police & Fire Brigade used to be immune from negligence legal actions? Yes. This case explained the traditional position that emergency services should be immune from any legal actions against them. Cases such as Osman v the UK and Z and others v the UK confirming that no part of the administration should possess blanket immunity means that this position is no longer the law.
Judgment:
‘...it is unthinkable that the police should be exposed to potential actions for negligence at the suit of every disappointed or dissatisfied maker of a 999 call. I can see no sufficient grounds for holding that the police owed a duty of care to this plaintiff on or after receipt of the 999 call … if they would not have owed a duty of care to ordinary members of the public who made a similar call... In our judgment the fire brigade are not under a common law duty to answer the call for help and are not under a duty to take care to do so. If therefore they fail to turn up or fail to turn up in time because they have carelessly misunderstood the message, got lost on the way or run into a tree they are not liable,’ Slade LJ at 878
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.