Allan v Barclay 1864 2 M 873, CSIH
Citation: Allan v Barclay 1864 2 M 873, CSIH
Link to case on WorldLII (reference).
Rule of thumb: If you injure a person through negligence, and other 3rd parties, such as the business where the injured party worked or the injured party’s family, are caused damages by this too, do you have to pay them damages for their losses? No. It is a seminal rule that this is excluded as a ‘secondary injury’ which cannot be claimed by that person in damages due to the remoteness of damages principle.
Judgment:
A person who injures another does not have to accept claims from third parties who have also lost as a result of this and this has been called ‘the grand rule’ of damages, ‘The grand rule on the subject of damages is, that none can be claimed such as naturally and directly arise out of the wrong done; and such therefore as may reasonably be supposed to have been in the view of the wrongdoer... The personal injuries of the individual himself will be properly held to have been in the contemplation of the wrongdoer. But he cannot be bound to have surmised the secondary injuries done to all holding relations with the individual, whether that of a master, or any other’, Lord Kinloch.
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.