Donoghue v Stevenson [1932]

Concerning: Duty of care, neighbour principle

Facts

Mrs Donoghue and a friend visited a cafe. Mrs Donoghue's friend bought her a bottle of ginger beer. The bottle was made of opaque glass. When filling Mrs Donoghue's glass, the remains of a decomposed snail - which had somehow found its way into the bottle at the factory - floated out. Mrs Donoghue developed gastroenteritis as a result.

Legal Principle

Since Mrs Donoghue had bought the bottle of ginger beer herself she could not make a claim in contract upon breach of warranty. She therefore brought an action against the manufacturer of the ginger beer. The House of Lords had to decide whether a duty of care existed as a matter of law.

The House of Lords held that the manufacturer owed her a duty to take care that the bottle did not contain foreign bodies which could cause her personal harm. This is known as the narrow rule in Donoghue v Stevenson - that a manufacturer of goods owed a duty of care to their ultimate consumer.

More important, the case establishes the neighbour principle which determines whether the defendant owed a duty of care in any situation. Lord Atkin stated:

You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you…