(1898–1958)
Any lawyers in the house? You will be familiar with the internationally renowned ‘Donoghue v Stevenson’ case taught on Day 1 of how to be a sh*t hot solicitor. The case lay the foundation for modern law on negligence and ‘Duty of Care’ and became known as ‘the snail in the bottle’ case.
Of course, while May was sipping her ginger beer she had no idea about the turn of history and the change of law this brought about. While drinking with a friend at a cafe, May noticed part of a decomposing snail in her bottle. Understandably this caused distress and May later reported a stomach upset. She began legal action against the drinks company Stevenson’s, but, as her friend had bought her the drink, the company argued that, as she was not the purchaser, they had no legal obligation to her and the case was dismissed.
It could have ended there, and May could have walked quietly away. As a working-class woman and a single parent, she had little recourse for further litigation, but she recognised that regardless of what the law stated, the company had a responsibility and by whatever means she had she wanted to prove this. Fortunately, a law firm agreed with her and took her case on free of charge. The case led to discussions in Parliament which ultimately sought answers in the Bible, with the parable of the Good Samaritan and the question ‘who is my neighbour?’ acting as the benchmark for setting out responsibility to and for others. And so, The House of Lords’ decision was made which became the cornerstone of modern tort law: a person owes a duty of care to their “neighbour”— the people who are so closely and directly affected by your actions that you ought reasonably to have them in contemplation when you act.
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