Forseeability of suicide

Corr (Eileen) (administratrix of the estate of Thomas Corr, deceased) v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2006] EWCA Civ 331; LSG 21 April

The deceased had been badly injured in a factory accident that the defendant employer admitted had been caused by its negligence or breach of statutory duty. The deceased subsequently suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and was later treated in hospital for depression. Some six years after the accident he committed suicide. His widow brought a claim against the employer on behalf of his estate and under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976. The judge held that although the employer had been in breach of its duty of care, that duty did not extend to a duty to take care to prevent D’s suicide and that his suicide was not reasonably foreseeable.