## Facts

- Weaver and Ward were soldiers participating in a militia training exercise involving musket skirmishing.
- Ward’s musket discharged and the shot struck and injured Weaver.
- Ward asserted the shooting was accidental and against his will, with no intent to harm.
- Weaver sued Ward in trespass for assault and battery, alleging a direct personal injury.
- A jury returned a verdict for Weaver and awarded damages.

## Issues

1. Whether a defendant is liable in trespass for a direct physical injury caused by the defendant’s act when the injury was unintentional.
2. Whether an assertion that the harm occurred by accident, without more, is a complete defense to trespass.
3. Whether the defendant must affirmatively prove the injury was an inevitable accident wholly without the defendant’s fault to avoid liability.

## Decision

- The King’s Bench held Ward liable in trespass for the direct injury to Weaver.
- The court ruled that unintentionality alone did not bar civil liability in trespass for a direct application of force.
- The court required the defendant to plead and prove excusing matter—specifically, that the injury was an inevitable accident occurring wholly without fault.
- Ward’s plea that the event happened accidentally and against his will was insufficient to defeat liability on the record presented.

## Legal Principles

- Trespass lies for direct physical injuries caused by the defendant’s act, and liability is presumed even without intent to harm.
- The defendant bears the burden to avoid liability by proving the injury resulted from an inevitable accident—i.e., occurred wholly without the defendant’s fault and could not have been prevented by reasonable care.
- A mere claim that the injury was accidental does not, by itself, constitute a complete defense to trespass for direct injury.
- The action’s focus is the directness of the force and the resulting injury; excusing circumstances must be affirmatively shown by the defendant.

## Conclusion

The court imposed presumptive liability for direct, forceful injury in trespass and recognized a narrow escape only where the defendant proves an inevitable accident wholly free from fault, placing the burden of establishing that excuse on the defendant.


Weaver v. Ward, 80 Eng. Rep. 284 (K.B. 1616)