Where a safety device on hired equipment has an extremely low probability of undetected failure, and the hirer has implemented daily safety checks that would detect such failure, the standard of care does not require the additional installation of physical barriers (such as guard-rails) to protect against the consequences of that failure. The adequacy of safety precautions must be assessed by reference to the probability of the risk occurring, the gravity of potential harm, and the expense and difficulty of avoidance measures, including whether proposed additional measures would themselves introduce new risks.
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