Case Note: Chisholm v East Rand Proprietary Mines Ltd
Short Facts
- The plaintiff's husband was employed by the defendant company;
- her husband was killed due to the negligence of her husband's colleague;
- the plaintiff was pregnant when her husband was killed;
- she claimed damages from the defendant, claiming that her husband's death was partly due to the defendant's negligence (vicarious liability).
Main Issue
Does the unborn child have an independent right of action?
Principle
RE: Nasciturus fiction: If an unborn child’s father is killed, the child has an independent right of action, apart from his/her mother, against the person who has killed his/her father.🍎
