Lords confirm one cannot benefit from one’s own wrongdoing

A recent house of Lords judgment confirmed an old legal maxim. 

Mr Gray was a passenger in the Ladbrook Road Train Crash in October 1999. Although not badly hurt physically he subsequently developed severe post traumatic stress disorder and depression.

In August 2001 he was involved in an altercation and, as a result of his psychological condition, he stabbed the other person to death.

Everyone agreed that he would probably never have acted in this way but for the psychological injury he suffered from as a result of the crash.. Therefore, it was argued that Mr Gray’s actions were a consequence of the negligence of Thames Trains.

He claimed for loss of earnings as part of his claim against Thames Trains. It included an element for future loss of earnings.

The Court of Appeal agreed this was fair.

Thames Trains appealed to the Law Lords who ruled that his claim for future loss of earnings failed because  of the legal maxim ex turpi causa which means that one cannot base a claim upon your own unlawful actions.

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