Duty of care and slippery floors

Reflects on the scope of a shop owner's duty of care under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 to keep floors clear of spillages. Reviews the principles formulated by the Court of Appeal in Ward v Tesco Stores Ltd, including the evidential burden to show the discharge of the duty, and the approach adopted in subsequent cases. Discusses the High Court ruling in Piccolo v Larkstock Ltd (t/a Chiltern Flowers) on whether a small florist on Marylebone Station concourse was obliged to keep the floor dry and petal-free at all times and notes the importance of a proper system to safeguard customers.

Jackson v JH Watson Property Investment Ltd.

Comments on the Chancery Division decision in Jackson v JH Watson Property Investment Ltd on whether a landlord was liable in nuisance to a long leaseholder in respect of damage caused to the demised property by a building defect which pre-dated the grant of the lease or whether the principle of caveat lessee applied. Considers whether the defect amounted to "disrepair" within the meaning of the landlord's repairing covenant.

Nursing resources and patient outcomes in intensive care: a systematic review of the literature

Objectives: To evaluate the empirical evidence linking nursing resources to patient outcomes in intensive care settings as a framework for future research in this area. Background: Concerns about patient safely and the quality of care are driving research on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of health care interventions, including the deployment of human resources. This is particularly important in intensive care where a large proportion of the health care budget is consumed and where nursing staff is the main item of expenditure. Recommendations about staffing levels have been trade but may not be evidence based and may not always be achieved in practice. Methods: We searched systematically for studies of the impact of nursing resources (e.g. nurse-patient ratios, nurses' level of education, training and experience) on patient Outcomes, including mortality and adverse events, in adult intensive care. Abstracts of articles were reviewed and retrieved if they investigated the relationship between nursing resources and patient Outcomes. Characteristics of the studies were tabulated and the quality of the Studies assessed. Results: Of the 15 studies included in this review, two reported it statistical relationship between nursing resources and both mortality and adverse events, one reported ail association to mortality only, seven studies reported that they Could not reject the null hypothesis of no relationship to mortality and 10 studies (out of 10 that tested the hypothesis) reported a relationship to adverse events. The main explanatory mechanisms were the lack of time for nurses to perform preventative measures, or for patient surveillance. The nurses' role in pain control was noted by One author. Studies were mainly observational and retrospective and varied in scope from 1 to 52 units. Recommendations for future research include developing the mechanisms linking nursing resources to patient Outcomes, and designing large multi-centre prospective Studies that link patient's exposure to nursing care oil a shift-by-shift basis over time. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Horsham Properties Group Ltd v Clark: possession - mortgagee's right or discretionary remedy?

Comments on the Chancery Division decision in Horsham Properties Group Ltd v Clark on whether a mortgagee's exercise of its contractual right, on the mortgagor falling into arrears, to appoint receivers such that the property could be sold and possession obtained without triggering the court's discretionary powers pursuant to the Administration of Justice Act 1970 s.36 infringed the mortgagor's rights under the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 Protocol 1 art.1. Considers the implications of proposed reforms recasting the mortgagee's right to possession as a discretionary remedy. [From Legal Journals Index]