page_title: Woodroffe-Hedley v Cuthbertson
section_title: Facts
hierarchical_section_title: Woodroffe-Hedley v Cuthbertson / Facts
caption_attribution_description: English: The north face of la Tour Ronde (3,792 m) as seen from a telecabine between Punta Helbronner and Aiguille du Midi in 2009 July.
context_page_description: Woodroffe-Hedley v Cuthbertson, also known as Hedley v Cuthbertson was an English tort law case heard in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court. The claimant was a six-year-old child whose father had died in a mountaineering accident; the defendant was the victim's mountain guide who was found guilty of negligence.
context_section_description: Gerry Hedley hired David Cuthbertson to guide him to the summit of the Tour Ronde in the French Alps via its steep North face. Hedley was an experienced climber and Cuthbertson was an experienced Alpine guide. Cuthbertson was leading and was concerned about the sun's effect on the snow. He therefore used a single screw belay to save time. Cuthbertson could not remember the accident, but another climber stated that a large sheet of ice broke away from the mountain, wrenching out the screw and killing Hedley instantly. Cuthbertson's knee was fractured in the accident.
caption: Tour Ronde – North face, showing lower and upper icefields
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