Wikiversity Law Reports/Donoghue v Stevenson

Donoghue v Stevenson

[1932] AC 562, [1932] UKHL 100, 1932 SC (HL) 31, [1931] UKHL 3
This is not the original snail!
An example of ginger beer.

Summary

This case defined the modern concept of negligence, by establishing circumstances in which one party owes a duty of care to another party even if there are intervening third parties involved.

House of Lords

Facts

Mrs Donoghue consumed some ginger beer, from an opaque bottle, bought by her friend. She poured the remainder onto ice cream. The bottle was found to contain a decomposed snail. Mrs Donoghue commenced a personal injury claim against the beer manufacturer, Mr Stevenson.

Held

The beer manufacturer owed a duty of care to Mrs Donoghue because she was the consumer of the ginger beer, and it was irrelevant that she had not bought the bottle. In particular, Lord Atkin stated that:

Notes