Franklin v Victorian Railways Commissioners [1959] HCA 48

Franklin v Victorian Railways Commissioners [1959] HCA 48

The majority held that, although the jury could find that the train made an unusual lurch or jolt and that this occasioned the plaintiff's fall, the evidence did not make negligence by the commissioners or their servants more probable than other explanations. There was no evidence of excessive speed, defective track, defective carriage or mechanism, negligent driving, or any technical basis from which negligence could be inferred. The jury's verdict therefore lacked sufficient evidentiary support and the appeal was dismissed.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Procedural Posture
Appeal in a Personal Injuries Negligence Action / High Court Appeal From the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Which Had Allowed the Commissioners' Appeal, Set Aside the Jury Verdict for the Plaintiff and Entered Judgment for the Defendants
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
['railway Passenger Injury' 'res Ipsa Loquitur' 'inference of Negligence' 'no Evidence Submission' 'jury Verdict' 'contributory Negligence']
['tort Law' 'negligence' 'evidence' 'civil Procedure'] ['railway Passenger Injury' 'res Ipsa Loquitur' 'inference of Negligence' 'no Evidence Submission' 'jury Verdict' 'contributory Negligence']

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Procedural Posture

Appeal in a Personal Injuries Negligence Action / High Court Appeal From the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Which Had Allowed the Commissioners' Appeal, Set Aside the Jury Verdict for the Plaintiff and Entered Judgment for the Defendants

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the evidence of an unusual sway, jerk, lurch or jolt of the train provided a sufficient basis for a jury to infer negligence by the Victorian Railways Commissioners, their servants or agents' "Whether the plaintiff could rely on res ipsa loquitur to support the jury's finding of negligence" 'Whether the verdict for the plaintiff was properly set aside and judgment entered for the defendants rather than a new trial being ordered']

Ratio Decidendi

The majority held that, although the jury could find that the train made an unusual lurch or jolt and that this occasioned the plaintiff's fall, the evidence did not make negligence by the commissioners or their servants more probable than other explanations. There was no evidence of excessive speed, defective track, defective carriage or mechanism, negligent driving, or any technical basis from which negligence could be inferred. The jury's verdict therefore lacked sufficient evidentiary support and the appeal was dismissed.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed

Orders

  • ['Appeal dismissed.' "Costs of the appeal to be paid by the appellant's next friend."]