Dearden v Ryan & Anor
[2022] QSC 111 · Crow J
Charles Dearden, then 21 and working in the rural cattle industry, attended a friend's 21st birthday party on a rural property near Jondaryan. After the power failed, the hosts brought petrol from a remote fuel store to run a generator. Later in the night an intoxicated guest, intending only a prank to wake the sleeping Mr Dearden, poured petrol from a jerry can left in a shed onto him and set it alight, causing severe burns and permanent scarring, especially to his right shoulder and arm. The main legal question was whether the property owners owed and breached a duty of care, given that the harm was caused by another person's reckless criminal act. The court held that by bringing petrol to a party of heavily intoxicated young people and failing to remove it after an earlier grassfire, the owners had created a danger and were liable. The judge awarded Mr Dearden about $600,800, and ordered the man who lit the fire to contribute about $420,600 (70 per cent of the blame).
Incident & injury
At a 21st birthday party, an intoxicated guest poured petrol from a jerry can stored in a shed onto the sleeping plaintiff and ignited it, causing severe burns
- Body regions
- Shoulder, Right upper arm, Right axilla/shoulder, Right chest, Right upper back/thoracic, Right wrist, Right thumb, Left hand, Right thigh (donor site) (Right)
- Diagnoses
- Serious burn injuries with hypertrophic scarring, Skin graft scarring with contracture in right axilla, 15% whole person impairment (class 2 scarring impairment AMA Table 8.2)
- Incident date
- 10 February 2019
- Location
- The Three Mile, 400 Jondaryan-Saint Ruth Road, Jondaryan
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 2 June 2022
- Claim type
- PIPA Public Liability
- Proceeding
- Trial
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- 21
- Occupation
- Head stockman / farm hand (rural worker) Labourer
- Liability
- Disputed
- ISV assessed
- 38 uplift applied · Item 96 serious shoulder injury (ISV range 16-30)
- Whole Person Impairment
- 15%
- Total damages
- $600,798
Outcome
The court found the defendant occupiers liable in negligence for failing to safely store petrol that an intoxicated guest used to set the plaintiff alight, causing serious burns. Judgment was entered for the plaintiff against the defendants for $600,797.55, with the defendants entitled to a contribution of $420,558.29 from the third party (the person who lit the fire) on a 70/30 apportionment.
Defendant
1 Terence Bernard Ryan and Nicole Therese Ryan
Occupiers / Social hosts
- Apportionment
- 30%
- Judgment against this defendant
- $600,798
Heads of damage
| General damages | $95,670 |
|---|---|
| Past economic loss | $18,500 |
| Interest on past EL | $512 |
| Past superannuation | $1,758 |
| Future loss of economic capacity | $375,200 |
| Future superannuation | $43,336 |
| Past care (Griffiths v Kerkemeyer) | $0 |
| Future care | $0 |
| Past special damages (plaintiff) | $7,060 |
| Interest on past special damages | $157 |
| Future special damages | $58,605 |
| Subtotal before refunds | $600,798 |
Contribution orders
- Robert Andrew Taylor (third party) ordered to contribute $420,558 to Terence Bernard Ryan and Nicole Therese Ryan (Third party contribution — 70/30 apportionment (third party 70%, defendants 30%))
Key issues
Dearden v Ryan & Anor [2022] QSC 111
When typing in a Word document, italicise the case name. The copy button copies plain text suitable for any editor.