Jump to full article: Lawyer News, 2005-06-27
Author: [Author Unidentified]
Intro: Lord Nimmo Smith delivered his judgment in the long-running case of Margaret McTear v Imperial Tobacco Ltd this month. . . .
Lord Nimmo Smith acknowledged that the pursuer's case would no doubt have been conducted differently had more resources been available. However, that is not to say that more resources would have resulted in a different outcome. The case faced fundamental difficulties which could not have been remedied by additional resources.
A key difficulty was the issue of individual responsibility and the fact that Alfred McTear smoked in the knowledge of the risks associated with doing so. . .
Imperial's defence included the argument that the fundamental policy of the law is to allow the individual the right of self-determination. Once aware of a risk they have a duty to consider their options and take responsibility for informed choices. This fundamental principle applies in other circumstances involving risk.
Lord Nimmo Smith accepted this argument. . . .
The individualistic policy of the law in this case has implications beyond tobacco litigation. Others who may have feared consumer claims can take comfort from the conclusions on individual responsibility and from Lord Nimmo Smith's words: "It's not difficult today to find instances of people who, rather than blaming themselves for the consequences of their own decisions, seek to negate responsibility by claiming that a condition, such as obesity or addiction to a controlled drug, has just happened to them, independently of their own volition, or is someone else's fault� The law gives no countenance to such a tendency. The individualistic philosophy requires that individuals must live with the legal consequences of their own informed choices."
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