Did the claimant consent to the risk of injury?


Published by a ³ÉÈËÓ°Òô PI & Clinical Negligence expert
Practice notes

Did the claimant consent to the risk of injury?


Published by a ³ÉÈËÓ°Òô PI & Clinical Negligence expert

Practice notes
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The essence of a defence of volenti non fit injuria (‘to a willing person, no injury is done’) is that the claimant understands the danger of the situation and willingly consents to the risk of injury. In such circumstances, should injury occur, the claimant has no reason for complaint.

The defence is often shortened to volenti.

If established, volenti is a complete defence. The justification is that it is not possible to apportion consent and say that a claimant agreed to run certain risks but not others. As such, the defence will only be successful in clear cases.

The volenti defence will rarely be available in claims for breach of statutory duty.

requirements for bringing the defence

Three factors must be present in order to run the defence:

  1. •

    capacity

  2. •

    knowledge and willingness

  3. •

    agreement (express or implied)

Capacity

The claimant must have the capacity to give their consent in the relevant way. Children and those suffering

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Volenti non fit injuria definition
What does Volenti non fit injuria mean?

A defence based upon the claimant consenting to the risk of injury suffered.

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