Bolton v. Stone

Stone (plaintiff) was struck on the head by a stray cricket ball while standing in her yard on Beckenham Road, near a cricket ground owned by Bolton (defendant). She sued in negligence and public nuisance. Evidence showed that in the ground's roughly 30 years of operation, only six or seven balls had been hit onto the road, which was protected by a 17-foot fence. The trial court found for the defendant; appellate courts ultimately found for the plaintiff; the defendant appealed to the House of Lords.

Whether a person has a duty to prevent a risk of harm so small that a reasonable person, considering the matter from the standpoint of safety, would think it right to take no corrective action.