Expert Witness Journal Issue 68 August 2026 - Flipbook - Page 41
ZZZ v Ministry of Defence
[2026] EWCA Civ 875: occupiers’
liability, low balustrades,
horseplay and the discipline of
factual analysis
by Pankaj Madan, Barrister at Exchange Chambers.
The Court of Appeal has upheld a 昀椀nding of full
liability against the Ministry of Defence after an
18-year-old soldier sustained a signi昀椀cant brain
injury when he fell over a low landing balustrade in
barracks. In my view, the judgment is important well
beyond its military setting. It addresses the proper
limits of appellate intervention, the status of a visitor
under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, the relevance
of current standards to older premises, causation in
falls from height, and the evidential burden on a
defendant alleging contributory negligence.
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Introduction
Falls on or from stairs are often treated as intensely
fact-sensitive cases with limited wider signi昀椀cance.
That is usually a mistake. Such cases frequently
bring into sharp focus the central questions in
occupiers’ liability: what was the danger; who ought
reasonably to have appreciated it; what precautions
were proportionate; and did the condition of the
premises materially contribute to the injury?
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AUGUST
JUNE 2026
