ABSTRACT
The rule in Rylands v Fletcher is not a tort actionable per se, and so, damage must be proved. As to what types of injury are compensable, the harm primarily protected by the tort is damage to land, buildings and fixtures thereon. The plaintiff may also recover for harm to his chattels.96 Whether damages are recoverable for personal injuries is more doubtful. Despite dicta to the contrary,97 it seems to be settled that a person having an interest in land can recover for personal injuries. It has even been suggested that a non-occupier can recover for injuries to his person,98 and this view was implicitly accepted by Douglas CJ in Phillips v Barbados Light and Power Co Ltd,99 where, as we have seen, a bystander was electrocuted by a high voltage electricity wire. The learned Chief Justice said:100
For the company it is further submitted that the rule in Rylands v Fletcher does not apply to cases of personal injuries. Attention is drawn to Read v Lyons.101 In that case, an inspector of munitions was injured in the defendants’ munitions factory by the explosion of a shell. In the absence of negligence, it was held that the rule did not apply because there had been no escape of any dangerous thing from the premises. Lord Macmillan’s dictum that the rule in Rylands v Fletcher had nothing to do with personal injuries is, therefore, purely obiter. The view was expressed by Parker LJ in Perry v Kendricks Transport Ltd102 that the Court of Appeal in England is bound by one of its own decisions granting relief for personal injuries under the rule, and that the matter will have to be decided by the House of Lords when the issue arises there. On this question, it is worthy of note that the High Court of
Australia, whose decisions are accorded such great respect in all common law countries, held in the case of Benning v Wong103 that the damages for which a defendant is liable in an action based on the rule in Rylands v Fletcher include damages for personal injuries. Barwick CJ could discover no reason why personal injuries should not be included in damages awarded in a case based on Rylands v Fletcher.
