breach of duty

Question 1

what does breach of duty mean

Answer 1

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

Question 2

when does breach of duty happen

Answer 2

the defendant fails to reach the required standards of care that a person would do while performing the task competently.

Question 3

what cases can breach of duty be shown in

Answer 3

Blyth V Birmingham waterworks
Wells V Cooper

Question 4

what happens in the Blyth V Birmingham waterworks case

Answer 4

created the reasonable person test

Question 5

What is the reasonable person test

Answer 5

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

Question 6

what happened in the Well v Cooper case

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

what are the different characteristics the judge will look at whether they are a reasonably person or not

Answer 7

professionals, learners, children under the age of 18.

Question 8

how will professionals breach duty of care

Answer 8

if they do something that people in the same expertise wouldn’t have.

Question 9

what is the case for the characteristic of professionals

Answer 9

Bolam V Friern hospital management committee
Roe V Minister of health

Question 10

what happened in the Bolam V Friern hospital managament committee

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

what happened in the roe V minister of health case

Answer 11

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

Question 12

how do learners breach duty of care

Answer 12

when the care of someone who is learning a skill is different to someone who has the skill

Question 13

what cases link to learners

Answer 13

nettleship v weston

Question 14

what happened in the nettleship v western case

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

how can children under the age of 18 breach duty of care

Answer 15

this is when the expected standard of child is determined by comparing the care taken with other children the same age

Question 16

what case related to children under the age of 18

Answer 16

mullin v richards

Question 17

what happened in the mullin v richards case

Answer 17

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

Question 18

how will special characteristics of the claimant affected Brach of duty

Answer 18

when the reasonable person knows that someones else to whom they owe duty is a greater risk than and ordinary person

Question 19

what case links to special characteristics of the claimant

Answer 19

Paris v Stepney borough

Question 20

what happened in the case Paris v Stepney borough

Answer 20

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

Question 21

how will risk of harm affect breach of duty

Answer 21

general principle is the greater the risk the more care must be taken and take more precautions

Question 22

what case links to risk of harm

Answer 22

bolton v stone

Question 23

what happened in the case bolton v stone

Answer 23

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

Question 24

what is social utility

Answer 24

concerned with the benfits to society of taking the risk, involves an emergency situations

Question 25

what case links to social utility

Answer 25

watt v Hertfordshire county council

Question 26

what happened in the case watt v hertfrodhire county council

Answer 26

woman was trapped under a heavy vehicle not far from the fire station the station sent a ordinary lorry with a jack and the fireman on the back of it rather than a specialist vechile the jack slipped and injured one of the firemen this means that breach of duty is less likely to occur when it is an emergency

Question 27

what is taking precautions

Answer 27

the reasonable person does everything in their power to prevent damage.

Question 28

what case links to taking precautions

Answer 28

Latimer v AEC

Question 29

what happens in the case latimer v AEC

Answer 29

heavy rain flood where latimer worked, company did their best to clean it up however the he came on his shift he slipped and was injured shutting the factory was not a enable action in their circumstances therefore there was no breach of duty