Hall Vs Brookland Blog

What is Volenti Non-fit Injuria
Introduction
In the law of torts, if any person commits any wrongful act which causes
injury to another person, he is held available and has to pay damages or
provide some other remedy which the Court determines, to the victim of
such an act.
But in some cases even if a person suffers some loss because of the act of
another person, he cannot claim damages from that person because of the
operation of defences of tort. One such defence available to a defendant is
the defence of volenti non fit injuria in which the plaintiff is not entitled to
damages because he consents to the act which has caused injury to him.
What is Volenti Non-Fit Injuria

In the law of torts, there is a duty on every person do acts with reasonable
care in order to avoid any harm which may occur due to their failure of
taking such care. For e.g., If a person is driving his car, he has a duty to
drive the car safely and within speed limits so that no accident occurs which
can also harm any other person.
This is the general rule in torts but there are certain exceptions which are
allowed in these cases and these called as defences to tort. Under these
defences, a defendant can escape liability and volenti non-fit injuria is also
one such defence which is available for the defendant.
In case a person gives his consent to doing of an act which leads to him
getting injured, then even if an injury is caused by the other person, he
cannot claim any damages from that person because the act was one for
which he voluntarily consented. The consent of the plaintiff acts as a defence
and this defence is called volenti non fit injuria which means to a willing
person no injury happens.
We see can that in the case of hall vs Brookland auto racing club-
There was a racing event held by Brookland auto racing club where 2 car was
racing at a speed of 100miles per hour, at a left turn they both turned at
same time and crashed into each other and one was shot into the air and
landed on the railing killing 2 people and injuring several others plaintiff was
one of the people who were injured sued the defendant for the damages
caused. In the court it was said that while purchasing the ticket plaintiff gave
his assent to all risks involved in the event, since this kind of accident had
never happened in the past this could not have been foreseen by anyone
here volenti non-fit injuria was applied and the defendant cannot be blamed
for this the defendants were not held liable to provide damages to the injured
plaintiff.
Elements of volenti Non-fit Injuria

There are 2 essential elements in this defence:
1. The plaintiff must be aware of all the possible risks there are
2. The plaintiff even after knowing all the possible risks voluntarily agrees
to suffer the harm.
Whenever the plaintiff is aware of all the possible risks involved and if get
suffers any loss or damage, the defendant cannot be held liable in such
cases
But the only mere knowledge of the risk is not acceptable, The person
must give his accent that if he suffers any damage that would be by his
own accent. Both the elements should be applied in order to apply volenti
non-fit injuria
Consent of the plaintiff

The consent of the plaintiff is very important in the defence of volenti non fit
injuria because only when he voluntarily gives his consent to an act, the
defendant can take this defence.
Consent of the Plaintiff must be free

When a plaintiff gives his consent for an act such consent should be free
from any coercion, fraud or any other such means by which the free consent
can be affected.
For e.g., A has a heart problem and he goes to a hospital for surgery. There
he is informed by the surgeons that the required surgery is very complicated
and there is a chance of the surgery failing which can cause his death. If A
gives his consent to have the surgery and the surgeon despite taking all
reasonable care in doing the surgery is not able to save A, then the surgeon
cannot be held liable because A had given his consent for it and this consent
was given freely.
Limitations on the application of
volenti non fit injuria
There are certain limitations under which the defence of volenti non fit injuria
cannot be taken by a defendant even if the essentials of this defence are
present in the case.
Rescue Cases
When the plaintiff suffers an injury as a result of him doing an act which he
knows is likely to cause harm to him but it is an act to rescue someone, then
this defence will not apply and the defendant will be held liable.

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What is Volenti Non-fit Injuria

What is Volenti Non-Fit Injuria

Elements of volenti Non-fit Injuria

Consent of the plaintiff

Consent of the Plaintiff must be free

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