Weather is a topic that often forms part of our daily conversations and in particular the ability (or inability) of the weather bureau to give accurate predictions of the weather. Many of the decisions that we make in our day to day lives are reliant upon what the weather prediction is for that day. In some cases, it can be quite frustrating when a weather prediction that was relied upon turns out to be false. In some cases, it is more then frustrating, but in fact life threatening.
So, have you ever wondered if you can sue a weather service if they get it wrong? That question will be at the core of a very interesting court case before the Victorian Supreme Court.
The facts of the case are these:
- In 2018 in the Yarra Valley in Victoria 16 passengers took part in a recreational hot air balloon flight operated by a private ballooning company ‘Go Wild Ballooning’.
- Reports state that during the flight there was a sudden wind change that caused the balloon to shift course and send it toward powerlines, resulting in the pilot of the balloon being forced into an emergency landing.
- A number of the balloon passengers were injured during that hard landing and have taken legal action against Go Wild Ballooning seeking damages for injuries sustained in the crash.
- But in an unexpected twist in the proceedings Go Wild Ballooning has taken legal action against the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) arguing that the BOM is jointly responsible given that Go Wild Ballooning had relied upon an incorrect weather forecast that had been mistakenly uploaded by a BOM employee to an automated free telephone weather service specifically for balloon operators.
- Go Wild Ballooning’s argument is that the automated service should have warned the pilot about the coming wind change that was due that day and if it had done so then the pilot would not have proceeded with the flight. They argue it is in fact the undisclosed wind change that caused the incident.
As at the date of writing this piece the matter is still before the Courts, so the outcome is not known, but the case raises a very unique legal question around a Government authority’s responsibility to the public for their reliance on the information that they provide.
As far as we aware this is the first case of this kind in Australia involving a claim against a weather forecaster for a false weather prediction and will certainly be one to watch.
