Neil Block KC
Year of call: 1980
Silk: 2002
News
Judgment Reserved in Busby v Berkshire Bed Company
The High Court has reserved judgment in Claire Busby v Berkshire Bed Company. Ms. Busby was left paralyzed after she fell out of bed during sex. She alleged the fall was due to defects in her newly delivered bed, a king-size ottoman consisting of two connected divans.
Ms. Busby claimed the Defendant failed to attach two 'gliders' to one side of the bed, resulting in a difference in height between the two divans. This caused the mattress to slope downwards, and also left a gap between the mattress and the point at which the divans connected. She alleged that the gap caused the mattress not to support her as expected when she moved. It instead caused her to be "catapulted" off the bed.
The Defendant denied that the bed was delivered incomplete and in any event denied that any minor defect resulted in Ms Busby's fall and injuries. It contended that Ms. Busby probably fell because she had been too close to the edge of the bed and simply lost balance.
Neil Block QC acted for the Defendant and its insurers.
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