breach of duty Flashcards
what does breach of duty mean
breach of duty is if once a duty is owed, then the next stage is to show that the duty of care has been broken
when does breach of duty happen
the defendant fails to reach the required standards of care that a person would do while performing the task competently.
what cases can breach of duty be shown in
Blyth V Birmingham waterworks
Wells V Cooper
what happens in the Blyth V Birmingham waterworks case
created the reasonable person test
What is the reasonable person test
what would the reasonable person do in the defendants circumstances
meaning if the actions fall below the reasonable person would have done in these circumstances then their action would breach duty of care
what happened in the Well v Cooper case
man closed a door in the wind the handle came off meaning he fell down the stairs, the handle was fitted by the house owner, he wasn’t a professional builder, but was reasonably competent at DIY, the outcome was that there was no breach of case, because the appropriate standard was met.
what are the different characteristics the judge will look at whether they are a reasonably person or not
professionals, learners, children under the age of 18.
how will professionals breach duty of care
if they do something that people in the same expertise wouldn’t have.
what is the case for the characteristic of professionals
Bolam V Friern hospital management committee
Roe V Minister of health
what happened in the Bolam V Friern hospital managament committee
bolam agreed to electric shock hospital he wasn’t given any muscle relaxant and his body was not restrained, he suffered serious injuries from his body movement, the outcome was that they duty had not been breached this was because a doctor reached his standard of opinion.
what happened in the roe V minister of health case
claimant was given anaesthetic and became paralysed being contaminated during storage, it was discovered there were tiny cracks in the containers, but these cracks could only be seen with a microscope, there was no breech of duty because the risk wasn’t foreseeable
how do learners breach duty of care
when the care of someone who is learning a skill is different to someone who has the skill
what cases link to learners
nettleship v weston
what happened in the nettleship v western case
nettleship gave a friends wife a driving lesson, he was experienced driver and he made sure to check the insurance before accompanying her, she crashed into a lamp post and he was injured, the court decided that the learner is responsible and owes a duty of care.
how can children under the age of 18 breach duty of care
this is when the expected standard of child is determined by comparing the care taken with other children the same age
what case related to children under the age of 18
mullin v richards
what happened in the mullin v richards case
two people were frineds at school, they were playing swords with rulers, one of the rulers snapped and a piece of plastic entered mullins eye causing her to become bling, he was only expected o reach the standard of a 15 year old not of an adult she was found not to be in breach of duty
how will special characteristics of the claimant affected Brach of duty
when the reasonable person knows that someones else to whom they owe duty is a greater risk than and ordinary person
what case links to special characteristics of the claimant
Paris v Stepney borough
what happened in the case Paris v Stepney borough
Paris was injured in war which caused total blindness in one eye. Stepney borough mechanic company didn’t provide him with goggles when he worked therewhich caused him to go blind in the other eye
how will risk of harm affect breach of duty
general principle is the greater the risk the more care must be taken and take more precautions
what case links to risk of harm
bolton v stone
what happened in the case bolton v stone
stone was hit with a cricket ball that was hit out the ground and was protected by a 2 metre high fence, ball was hit out 6 times in the past 30 years, ni breach od duty because the risk was very small
what is social utility
concerned with the benfits to society of taking the risk, involves an emergency situations
