Because a successful plea of volenti wipes out the claim entirely, the courts keep its boundaries tight. This chapter sets out the three elements the defendant must prove, why mere knowledge of a risk falls short, and the situations where consent is not truly voluntary — notably employees acting under pressure and rescuers responding to danger. It then examines implied consent in sport and the limits of a patient's consent to medical treatment, before turning to the statutory bars in the Road Traffic Act 1988 and UCTA 1977. The chapter closes by drawing the line between volenti and contributory negligence, where the consequences for the claimant differ sharply.
