AMAKOM SAWMILL & CO. V. MANSAH AND ANOTHER

AKUFO-ADDO J.S.C.

The grounds put forward by learned counsel for the appellants in support of the appeal were mostly a reiteration of the defences put up in the court below and may be summarised as follows:

(1) That the finding that the driver of the truck was negligent is against the weight of evidence;

(2) That on the principle of volenti non fit injuria the respondents were not entitled to succeed;

(3) That the deceased was guilty of contributory negligence;

(4) That assuming the driver of the truck was negligent the appellants are not vicariously liable on the ground that the truck was hired by the deceased under whose control and direction the driver was at all material times;

(5) That the deceased’s death was the result of inevitable accident; and

(6) that the damages were excessive.

It is perhaps unnecessary to state that, except in the case of the ground relating to damages, the issues raised by these grounds were all issues of fact determinable upon the evidence before the learned t…