Eskwai logo
Verify now as a student, judge or newly called lawyer for access to discounted plans.

DR. EDEM KOFI ANYIGBA v. THE COCA COLA BOTTLING COMPANY OF GHANA LTD.

2018

COURT OF APPEAL

GHANA

CORAM

  • P. K. GYAESAYOR, JA (PRESIDING)
  • E. K. AYEBI, JA
  • TANKO AMADU, JA

Areas of Law

  • Tort Law
  • Evidence Law
  • Civil Procedure

AI Generated Summary

The Court of Appeal (per Gyaesayor, JA, with Ayebi, JA concurring and Amadu, JA agreeing) allowed an appeal by the Coca-Cola Company from a High Court judgment awarding GH20,000 damages to a reconstructive plastic surgeon at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. The surgeon, dining with colleagues at the Meddiner Restaurant within the hospital, sipped from a 50cl Coca-Cola opened in his presence and observed a whitish substance floating in the drink. The court affirmed the manufacturer’s duty of care under Donoghue v Stevenson and accepted the presence of contamination, applying res ipsa loquitur to infer negligence because the defendant failed to explain how the foreign matter entered the bottle despite its quality-control regime. However, the plaintiff offered no medical evidence and admitted his “shock” was not medical. Emphasizing that negligence requires proof of damage (The Wagon Mound; Rothwell) and the burden under Evidence Act s.11(1), the court held damages were unsustainable, set aside the award, and ordered a refund of the GH20,000 and costs.

JUDGMENT