George v Skivington

George v Skivington (1869) is an English tort law case where it was held that a manufacturer who places a product intended for human consumption into the market, in a form that is liable for damage and who fails to exercise reasonable care to ensure that the product is suitable for human consumption, could be sued for damages by the victims.

George v Skivington
Decided1869
Citation(s)3 H&N 211; 157 ER 448
Case history
Related action(s)Donoghue v Stevenson
Court membership
Judge(s) sittingBaron Pollock
Keywords
Tort law

Facts

In 1869, when Mr George bought hair wash for his wife, who used it and was injured by the improperly manufactured product, he sued Mr Skivington (the manufacturer) and won the case, even though his wife was not a party to the contract.

Judgement

The court awarded damages for the manufacturer failing to foresee reasonable omissions in a breach on contract.

Significance

George v Skivington represented the first time in British common law, a third party or persons, which was not directly involved in the incident. The decision was used by Mrs Donoghue in the 1932 case Donoghue v Stevenson, as a precedent to support her case. This case supported Mrs Donoghue's claim that manufacturers owed a duty of care to the people using their products, even when bought by one person, and used by another (an outside party).

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See also

References
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