The Brodie duty of care owed by local authorities to pedestrians is assessed by reference to whether the plaintiff fell within the class of reasonable pedestrians of ordinary physical capacity exercising sufficient care, subject to acts of mere inadvertence. Whether a footpath defect constitutes a hazard depends not only on its dimensions but also on its colour, location and surrounding surfaces. Contributory negligence has little role to play where the Brodie duty is made out and the plaintiff's failure to observe the hazard was mere inadvertence.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 5 later cases that cite this judgment.