Knowledge that an employee has been in gaol does not constitute voluntary assumption of the risk of being shot by that employee; the volenti defence requires consent to the specific risk that materialised. Contributory negligence in failing to adequately interview a prospective employee is not causative of physical injury from a violent criminal act, because carelessness as to economic interests (hiring an unsuitable worker) is a different type of risk from the risk of gratuitous violence. The proviso principles from Weiss v The Queen apply to civil appeals under Pt 51 r 23 of the Supreme Court Rules, requiring the appellate court to make its own independent assessment of the evidence.
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