brach of duty template Flashcards
a breach of duty occurs…
when d fall s below the standard explicated of a reasonable man
wells v copper
the courts will consider….
wherever d has any special characteristics.
learner driver judged at the same levels as a competent driver, nettleship v western
professional judged against the standards of a competent professional using a tried and tested procedure, bolam v frein barnett hospital trust, modified in the case of doctors by Montgomery v lancashire health board
children judged by a reasonable child of the same age, mullins v richard’s
Here d has…..
courts will look at….
factors to decide what is reasonable.
courts will look to see wether c has any special characteristics
paris v Stephney, one eyed mechanic owed a higher duty of care
here c has…..
courts will consider size of risk
Bolton v Stone, chance of a cricket ball flying out a cricket ground was small so no breach.
Hayley v London Electricity board, high risk of harm as the electrify board had no barriers around a whole in the ground which was a road frequently used by blind people. high risk of harm electricity board breached their duty
here there was a high risk of harm occurring….
as there is a big risk more likely courts will decide there’s been a breach
OR
here there wasn’t a big risk of harm occurring
as there wasn’t a big risk of harm occurring d has not breached their duty
courts will look to see the practicality of precaution……
and how easy it is to prevent risk.
Latimer v AEC the factory owners had taken reasonable steps to reduce risk of injury so they hadn’t broken their duty
Application - as it would have been reasonably practical to prevent the risk courts will decide breach
OR
as d had taken all reasonable precautions to prevent risk by…….they will not have breached their duty
courts will look to see if some harm was known……
at the time of the accident
Roe v Minister of Health - if the risk is unkown their can be no breach
as the risk was known……
OR
as the risk was not known d has not breached their duty
courts will see if there was any public benefit from taking the risk
if there was a benefit courts are more likely to find the defendant has not breached their duty.
Watts v Hertfordshire County Council - benefit of attending RTA outweighed the fact that the fire fighters travelled in an inappropriate vehicle
Here there was/ wasn’t a public benefit in taking the risk so the defendant is more/ less likely to have breached their duty
conclusion
d has/ has not breached their duty
