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Polity & Governance
Mahesh

02/05/24 06:21 AM IST

SC rejects application of ‘eggshell skull’ rule in a case

In News
  • Underlining that the state and central consumer courts incorrectly applied the ‘eggshell skull’ legal principle, the Supreme Court recently restored the compensation of Rs 5 lakhs awarded by the district consumer forum in a medical negligence case.
Eggshell skull rule
  • The eggshell skull rule is a common law principle applied in civil litigation.
  • Essentially, when the offender would be liable for all injuries that might be intensified due to the peculiar conditions of the injured person that the offender might not have known.
  • Simply put, the defendant would be held responsible for injuries caused to a person when he hit him on the head, even if the victim had a particularly delicate skull or an ‘eggshell’ for a skull.
  • “[A] person who has an eggshell skull would be more severely impacted by an act, which an otherwise “normal person” would be able to withstand,” the SC said in its judgment of the case.
  • The rule is applied for claiming an enhanced compensation — for damage that is more than what could have been ordinarily anticipated to be caused by the defendant.
Origin
  • The origins of the eggshell skull rule are most often traced back to an 1891 Vosburg v. Putney case in Wisconsin, US.
  • The incident took place at a school in Wisconsin’s Waukesha when a 12-year-old boy, Putney, kicked a 14-year-old boy, Vosburg, in the shin without the knowledge that the latter had suffered a prior injury in that bodily region. 
  • The Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the injury was aggravated due to the kick, which “caused his (Vosburg’s) leg to become lame”.
  • In his judgment, Justice William P Lyon said even though Putney did not intend to cause this degree of harm, the kick was an “unlawful act” as it took place after the teacher had called the class to order.
  • He concluded: “One who intends the act is also responsible for the subsequent harm.”
  • The eggshell skull rule has consequently also been referred to as the ‘thin skull rule’ in many of the cases.
Source- Indian Express

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