Reference no: EM13961671

Nadgett, a young male adult, is seeking refreshment at a local coffee shop. While Nadgett is waiting in line for his low-fat latte, Chuffey, an elderly man, accidentally bumps into Nadgett and spills the contents of his coffee cup onto Nadgett's designer shirt. Nadgett, who has a very bad temper, starts to push Chuffey around very violently and grabs Chuffey by the throat. Chuffey struggles to free himself from Nadgett's strong hold and eventually Durdles, the manager of the coffee shop, pulls Nadgett and Chuffey apart. Durdles then orders Nadgett to leave the premises. Chuffey is breathing very heavil and sits on a chair. Chuffey tells Durdles that he is "OK" and later leaves the coffee shop.

Chuffey walks away from the coffee shop towards his apartment block. It is night and, since it is winter, it is very cold (about -1 degree Celsius). After walking for a few minutes, Chuffey suffers a heart attact and falls down in considerably pain. As he falls, Chuffey hits his head on the sidewalk and loses consciousness. Unfortunately, the street is dark and isolated and Chuffey is not discovered until one hour after his collapse.

Chuffey is transported to hospital. He is taken to Intensive Care and is treated both fro his heart condition and for the concussion that he suffered as a result of the fall. However, although he initially appears to be recovering in hospital, after 24 hours, Chuffey soon develops symptoms of acute pneumonia. The difficulty in breathing which Chuffey experiences as a consequence of the pneumonia places a great strain on his heart, which -in its weakened state- is unable to withstand the pressure and Chuffey dies from heart failure.

Estella, a physician who works at the hospital, tells the police that Chuffey had a serious heart condition for which he had been receiving treatment during the past 12 months. She states that the physical struggle with Nadgett precipitated the heart attack which Chuffey suffered in the street. Estella argues that the hospital staff did all that was humanly possible to save Chuffey's life.

However, Estella states that lying on the street for one hour at a sub-zero temperature had caused Chuffey to suffer a critical loss of body heat and this had made him susceptible to an episode of acute pneumonia. Estella expresses the opinion that Chuffey died from a combination of circumstances-namely, his underlying heart condition and the pneumonia.

The police are considering charging Nadgett with manslaughter on the basis that he committed the unlawful act of assault on Chuffey and that any reasonable person standing in Nadgett's shoes would have foreseen the risk of significant bodily harm to Chuffey. Nadgett claims that he cannot be held responsible for the death of Chuffey because all he did was to engage in a physical struggle with Chuffey. Nadgett did not know that Chuffey had a heart condition and did not expect that Chuffey would collapse in the street. After all, Nadgett argues, Chuffey told Durdles he was "OK" before he left the coffee shop. Nadgett also contend that Chuffey really died as a consequence of pneumonia and that there was no way in which Nadgett could have forseen that this disaster would occur. Futhermore, Nadgett states that, if Chuffey had been taken to hospital immediatel after he collapsed, he would not have contracted pneumonia. Buzfuz, Nadgett's lawyer, has also contacted a medical witness, Slammer, who is willing to argue that the doctors at the hospital were negligent because they did not take sufficiently aggressive steps to treat the pneumonia until it was too late to save Chuffey. On this basis, Buzfuz, will contend that it was the doctors at the hospital who actually caused Chuffey's death.

Discuss whether or not Crown Counsel should bring a charge of manslaughter against Nadgett with respect to the death of Chuffey.