ABSTRACT

The defendants dropped a bag of sugar from a crane onto the plaintiff, causing him injury. The plaintiff having satisfied the court on this, the Court of Exchequer was prepared to find that the plaintiff had raised a presumption that the defendant had been negligent. In the judgment of Erle CJ, the rule was, at p 601:

There must be reasonable evidence of negligence, but where the thing is shown to be under the management of the defendant or his servants, and the accident is such as, in the ordinary course of things, does not happen if those who have the management of the machinery use proper care, it affords reasonable evidence, in the absence of explanation by the defendant, that the accident arose from want of care.