Facts: Mr London had been a 65-year-old man who suffered from a number of health conditions. He had been waiting for a minibus at a day centre run by the local authority. The driver, employed by the local authority, had briefly left Mr London unattended to adjust the tail lift at the back of the minibus. At that moment, Mr London stepped forward, tripped and fell. He needed a total hip replacement but never recovered fully and died 10 weeks later from deep vein thrombosis.

Judgment: May J held that the local authority had been in breach of its duty of care towards Mr London as the risk of him falling was known and that, on the facts, his death had been in consequence because his fall had increased his liability to deep vein thrombosis and his fall, operation and consequent immobility had caused it.