Watson v British Boxing Board of Control

Watson v British Boxing Board of Control
Court	Court of Appeal of England and Wales
Full case name	Michael Alexander Watson v British Boxing Board of Control Ltd & World Boxing Organisation Inc
Decided	19 December 2000
Citation(s)	[2001] QB 1134, [2000] EWCA Civ 2116
Transcript(s)	transcript at BAILII[1]
Case history
Prior action(s)	High Court of Justice
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting	Phillips MR May LJ Laws LJ
Case opinions
Phillips MR
Keywords
trespass to the person, duty of care, negligence

Watson v British Boxing Board of Control [2001] QB 1134 was a case of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales that established an exception to the defence of consent to trespass to the person and an extension of the duty of care expected in cases of negligence. Michael Watson was injured in a boxing match supervised by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC or BBBC), which was expected to provide medical care. This care was insufficient, and as such Watson was in a coma for 40 days, and spent 6 years in a wheelchair. After recovering consciousness, he sued the BBBC in negligence, and was awarded approximately £1 million by the High Court of Justice, who determined that the relationship between the BBBC and Watson was sufficient to create a duty of care. This decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, who noted that the BBBC had a duty not only to ensure that injuries did not occur, but that injuries were properly treated.