If you want to try and avoid liability for mistakes on a website you should have a disclaimer and it should be brought to your users' attention. Websites can owe a duty of care to people who visit them and rely on the information they provide, England's Court of Appeal has said. The case Patchett v SPATA [2009] EWCA Civ 717 - http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2009/717.html - is a reminder to all FE and HE institutions to review what the disclaimers on their websites are actually stating. The case highlights the risk of inaccuracies on websites and the value of disclaimers. If risk can be mitigated by maximising the exposure of a disclaimer then that should probably be done.
Further details of the case can be found on the OUT-LAW website at - http://www.out-law.com/page-10214.
(30/07/09)