## Facts

- Stanley and Powell participated in a pheasant-shooting party; Stanley assisted as a carrier of game and cartridges.
- Powell fired at a pheasant during the shoot.
- A pellet from Powell’s gun struck a tree branch, ricocheted, and hit Stanley in the eye, causing serious injury and loss of sight.
- Stanley sued alleging Powell “negligently and wrongfully and unskilfully” fired and injured him.
- The trial judge submitted to the jury whether Stanley was hit by Powell’s shot and whether Powell was negligent.
- The jury found (1) Stanley was injured by a shot from Powell’s gun, (2) Powell was not negligent in firing as he did, and (3) damages were £100.
- The parties left the legal question of liability, given the special findings, for the judge to determine.

## Issues

1. Whether a direct physical injury (trespass to the person) is actionable when it is neither intended nor caused by negligence.
2. Whether an “inevitable accident” (an unforeseeable event not preventable by reasonable care) defeats liability even though the defendant’s voluntary act physically caused the injury.

## Decision

- Judgment for Powell.
- The court held that a trespass to the person is not actionable when the contact is neither intentional nor the result of negligence.
- Given the jury’s finding of no negligence and no evidence of intent, the injury was treated as an inevitable accident, precluding liability.

## Legal Principles

- Trespass to the person requires fault: liability does not attach for unintentional, non-negligent direct injuries.
- A defendant is not liable for harm caused by an inevitable accident—an occurrence that could not reasonably have been foreseen or avoided with ordinary care and skill.
- The mere fact that the defendant’s voluntary act was the direct physical cause of injury does not, without intent or negligence, establish tort liability.

## Conclusion

Because the shooting injury resulted from an unforeseeable ricochet and the jury found Powell exercised due care and lacked intent to harm, the court held the incident was an inevitable accident and not actionable in trespass.


Stanley v. Powell, [1891] 1 Q.B. 86 (Q.B. Div. 1891)