An action was tried before Mr. Justice Maule, July 30, 1846—the first
case of the kind—which established the liability of railway engineers for
the consequences of any errors they commit.
The action was brought by the Dudley and Madeley Company against Mr.
Giles, the engineer. They had paid him £4,000 for the preparation of the
plans, etc., but when the time arrived for depositing them with the Board
of Trade they were not completely ready. The scheme had consequently
failed. This conduct of the defendant it was estimated had injured the
company to the extent of £40,000. The counsel for the plaintiff did not
claim damages to this amount, but would be content with such a sum as the
jury should, under the circumstances, think the defendant ought to pay,
as a penalty for the negligence of which he had been guilty. For Mr.
Giles, it was contended, that the jury ought not, at the worst, to find a
verdict for more than £1,700, alleging that the remainder £2,300 had been
paid by him in wages for work done, and materials used.
The jury, however, returned a verdict to the tune of £4,500, or £500
beyond the full sum paid him.
But, what said the judge? That “it was clear that the defendant had
undertaken more work than he could complete, and that he should not be
allowed to gratify with impunity, and to the injury of the plaintiffs,
his desire to realise in a few months a fortune which should only be the
result of the labour of years.”