A hammer-throwing incident at work led the court to consider
whether the employer should be held vicariously liable for the
hammer-throwing employee.
Christopher Somerville v Harsco Infrastructure
Limited
The Issue
Following a light-hearted exchange between a supervisor and a
fellow employee, a hammer was thrown which accidentally struck Mr
Somerville.
An earlier decision in the case ruled that Harsco were not
vicariously liable for the supervisor. Mr Somerville appealed,
arguing that the court had failed to take into account the
seriousness of the incident, and the assertion of superiority made
by the supervisor before he threw the hammer.
The Facts
On 10 June 2013, Mr Somerville was working for Harsco in their
yard. His colleague Mr Bazela was also in the yard, as was their
supervisor, Stanley Smith.
