Duty of Care

Question 1

What must be established for liability in negligence?


Answer 1

Duty of care, breach, and causation

Question 2

What types of damage do established and novel duty situations relate to?


Answer 2

Personal injury or property damage

Question 3

What are the established duty situations?

Answer 3

Road users to passengers, pedestrians and other road users
Doctor to patient
Employer to employee
Manufacturer to consumer
Teacher to pupil
Where D has created a dangerous situation, any reasonably foreseeable rescuers would be owed a duty of care too

Question 4

Explain the approach to novel duty situations?


Answer 4

Is there reasonable foresight of harm to C?; Will D’s actions affect C?
Is there a sufficiently proximate relationship between C and D to impose a duty?
Is it fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty of care as a matter of policy?

Question 5

What is the position around omissions and duty of care?


Answer 5

General rule = no duty of care for failures to act
Exceptions
Duty to not make a situation worse
Duty to care for someone where there is a special relationship of control
Where there is a special relationship of control (parent and child), they have a duty to take positive steps to prevent harm befalling third parties

Question 6

Give examples of when a duty around omissions may arise, in respect of special relationship


Answer 6

Parents to children
Teachers to pupils
Employer to employee
Instructor and pupil

Question 7

What duties do police officers owe individuals?

Answer 7

In the investigation of crime, no duty of care is owed by the police to individual members of the public

This is in respect of investigatory decisions by the police, as opposed to their operational activities