Rae v Glasgow City Council, 1998 SLT 292
Citation: Rae v Glasgow City Council, 1998 SLT 292
Rule of thumb: Can you sue a person for giving you lung cancer due to second hand smoke inhalation? Yes, it is extremely difficult to prove, but not an impossible case to raise.
Judgment:
The facts of this case were that the pursuer contracted respiratory disease. She argued that these were caused by passive smoking, and she further argued that she had been exposed to passive smoking at work and that it caused her respiratory disease. It was held that at the times when she was exposed to this the dangers of passive smoking were not yet known and sufficiently available in medical journals and health and safety journals. This shows how it is always important in raising these types of cases to make clear reference to medical and health and safety journals clearly warning people of the dangers of the activity, ‘I do not consider the pursuer has made averments from which it could be concluded that the defenders knew or ought to have known of these risks arising from passive smoking. There are no averments of when the risk of lung or respiratory system disease occurring from passive smoking was discovered, or when and by what means the defenders ought to have known about it... It follow there is no averment of how material such a risk is or when it was discovered. It also follows that there is no averment of when and how the defenders ought to have known of such a risk...’, Lord Bonomy
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.