Case Study: Tom and the injured man on the roadside

Tom had been out having a few drinks with friends and was driving home. While driving along a poorly lit suburban street he notices a car swerving ahead of him and once he gets up to where the car had been he notices a man lying on the side of the suburban road. Thinking that perhaps the man had been hit by the swerving car he stops to see if he is alright. He decides to move him away from the side of the road and places an arm around the man and attempts to move him. In doing so, he slips and the man falls and hits his head on a stone, causing a nasty gash and loss of blood. Tom dials 000 for an ambulance and waits until it arrives.

The paramedic who attends asks how the injured man got the nasty gash on his head which requires stitches and Tom says that he slipped while carrying him to the side of the road to which the advised him that that was not necessary as the man would have already been out of harm's way and away from traffic.

The injured man, who is not insured, is taken to hospital but subsequently finds out what Tom had done and commences proceedings against Tom for recovery of damages of the cost of the surgery for his gashed head.

Case study exercise:

Assess Tom's chances of successfully defending this action for negligence on the basis of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), taking account of the rules of statutory interpretation and the relevant intrinsic and extrinsic materials supplied.