The Queensland Court of Appeal held that a person of unsound mind is capable of being liable in negligence at common law and is to be judged by the standard of the ordinary and reasonable person, applying Bunyan v Jordan. The appeal against the substantive judgment was dismissed, but the costs order was varied from indemnity basis to standard basis. The case confirms that mental illness does not negate the duty of care or lower the standard of care in civil negligence proceedings in Queensland.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 13 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 13 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.