Origins of the Legal Concept of Due Diligence in the model WHS act

The case that launched the negligence tide is generally recognised as Donoghue vs Stevenson (1932). Essentially this tested the responsibility of a drink’s manufacturer for a stomach ache resulting from a late discovered decomposed snail in an opaque soft drink bottle, purchased by one of two friends to share.  Until that time, the liability for a bad product rested with the contractual arrangement between the seller and buyer, not a third party friend with whom the drink was shared and who subsequently fell ill.

Interestingly, it was a split decision by the 5 judges in the UK House of Lords as to whether or not the case should proceed at all since the potential liability to the manufacturer lay outside the existing buyer-seller contract. The minority was concerned that a finding for the plaintiff would launch an uncontrolled avalanche of negligence claims in common law jurisdictions, a concern that has pretty much eventuated.