Postal employees were working on an underground cable in
Scotland when they decided to take a break. They left the manhole open.
Two boys took the employees' lanterns and descended into
the hole. There was a fire and explosions, and 8 year old Hughes (and
others) were injured. The boys sued the Lord Advocate of Scotland, as the
representative of the Post Office.
The Scottish Court ruled in favor of the Lord Advocate.
The Court felt that the postal employees were negligent
in leaving the manhole open and leaving lit lanterns nearby.
However, the Court felt that an explosion due to the
dropping of a lantern in a sewer was not a foreseeable consequence
of leaving a manhole open.
The Appellate Court overruled.
The judges felt that a fire was certainly foreseeable.
It made no difference how the fire was specifically started.
