Woodroffe-Hedley v Cuthbertson

Gerry Hedley hired David Cuthbertson to guide him to the summit of the Tour Ronde in the French Alps via its steep North face.

[1] Cuthbertson could not remember the accident, but another climber stated that a large sheet of ice broke away from the mountain, wrenching out the screw and killing Hedley instantly.

[1] The victim's six-year-old son, who had not been born at the time of his father's death, was the claimant.

[2] Mr Justice Dyson held that the defendant had been negligent in only using one screw and had fallen below the standard of care owed to the victim.

[5] Cuthbertson's actions in the accident were later defended by the professional standards committee of the British Mountain Guides, who found he was not at fault.