ARTICLE · 15 MAY 2009

Nominal Defendant Found Liable For Injury Caused By Diesel Spill

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Where a driver loses control of a vehicle on a slippery road, liability may not be established even where the driver was traveling at an excessive speed. Liability may be avoided if the evidence shows that the defendant would have lost control even if he or she were driving at a reasonable speed for the prevailing circumstances.

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Dominello v Nominal Defendant [2009] NSWCA 95
Beazley, McFarlane JJA and Hodgson AJA

In Brief

Where a driver loses control of a vehicle on a slippery road, liability may not be established even where the driver was traveling at an excessive speed. Liability may be avoided if the evidence shows that the defendant would have lost control even if he or she were driving at a reasonable speed for the prevailing circumstances.

The Nominal Defendant may be liable for injury caused by fuel left on the surface of the road where the only reasonable inference from the circumstances is that the fuel spill was caused by circumstances which involved negligence by the owner or driver of the unidentified vehicle.

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