Under the Provisions of the Occupiers Liability Act Cap 34 an occupier owes a common duty of care to all invitees to his premises.
This is the duty to take such care as in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable to see that the invitees or visitors are reasonably safe in the use of the premises or for the purpose for which they are invited or permitted to be there.
It means that the occupier is liable if an invitee is injured while in the premises.
The occupier must be prepared for children to be less careful than adults. This imposes a heavier duty on occupiers.
The common duty of care owed by occupiers to invitees extends to persons permitted by law to enter into such premises.
However, an occupier owes no common duty of care to trespassers. Though he must not injure them, he is under no obligation to ensure that they are safe and is not liable if they are injured in his premises.
An occupier can guard against such liability in various ways.
Sufficient warning: to all invitees or visitors. Such warning must be clear as to what is expected of the invitees and must be conspicuously displayed.
Accepted risks: these are risks willingly accepted by the invitee for which the occupier is not liable.
Independent Contractor: an occupier is not liable if the invitees damage is due to the faulty execution of a task by an independent contractor, provided that the occupier had acted reasonably in entrusting the task to the contractor and had taken reasonable steps to satisfy himself that the contractor was competent
and that the task had been properly executed.
