Facts
- St Clair hired a helicopter from Timtalla Pty Ltd (Timtalla).
- The helicopter crashed. St Clair sued in negligence (vicariously) and claiming a non-delegable duty, claiming it was non-delegable because of the “hazardous or dangerous nature” of the work being undertaken.
Issues
- Could Timtallae held vicariously liable?
- Was the hazardous or dangerous nature of the helicopter work a non-delegable duty?
Held
- The court expressed its reluctance to expand categories of non delegable duty, stating “Some caution is required because the characterisation of a duty as non-delegable involves, in effect, the imposition of strict liability upon the defendant who owes that duty”.
- The Court concluded in rejecting St Clair’s appeal, that these “judgments serves as a distinct warning against expanding the scope of non-delegable duty or strict liability”.
- St Clair also failed to establish why Timtalla should be held responsible.
Full Text
The full text is available here: http://archive.sclqld.org.au/qjudgment/2011/QCA11-188.pdf
-- Download St Clair v Timtalla Pty Ltd - [2011] QCA 188 as PDF --

