Liability for injuries sustained on a RIB tour
Supreme Court judgment 15 February 2019, HR-2019-318-A, (case no. 18-128574SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against judgment.
A (Counsel Tom Sørum) v. Gjensidige Forsikring ASA (Counsel Merete Anita Utgård)
Justices: Matningsdal, Indreberg, Noer, Falch, Høgetveit Berg
A woman sustained a fracture in her back during a RIB tour. The Supreme Court found like the court of appeal that the owner of the RIB was not liable for the injury, see section 2-1 of the Compensatory Damages Act and section 418 of the Maritime Code with further references. The regulations applicable for RIB tours had not been violated by the owner or the skipper. In no other way had it been demonstrated that the skipper had acted contrary to what the passenger could reasonably expect when participating in such an event that was associated with a certain risk. There is always a chance that a person is injured, without it being possible to identify any specific negligent act causing it. And although the requirement of due care is strict, it is not so that any deviation from ideal conduct is negligence giving rise to liability. The woman's appeal against the Court of Appeal's judgment in favour of the owner's insurance company was dismissed.