Duty of Care: Negligence Flashcards
What are the stages in a Duty of Care Negligence question?
1) Did the defendant owe the claimant a duty of care?
2) Was the defendant in breach of that duty?
3) Did the defendant’s breach of duty cause damage to the claimant?
4) Are there any defences available to the defendant?
What is the definition of negligence?
Negligence is
1) A breach by the defendant of a legal duty of care
2) Owed to the claimant
3) That results in harm to the claimant
4) Unintended/undesired by the defendant
What are some Established Duty situations?
- One road user to another
- Teacher to pupil
- Doctor to patient
- Employer to employee
- Lifeguard to swimmer
- Educational psychologist to an individual suffering with
- Manufacturer to ultimate consumer of the product
- Defendant to rescuer
- Driver to pedestrian and passengers
- Referee to sports player
- Parent/adult in loco parentis to child
- Advocate to client
- limited circumstances, ambulance service to emergency callers
What are the cases for Established Duty situations?
- London Passenger Transport Board v Upson: One road user to another
- Donoghue v Stevenson: Manufacturer to ultimate consumer of the product
- Phelps v Hillingdon: Educational psychologist to an individual suffering with dyslexia
- Baker v Hopkins: Defendant to rescuer — where the defendant has created a dangerous situation so that it is reasonable that somebody may attempt to rescue
- Nettleship v Weston: Driver to pedestrian and passengers
- Vowles v Evans: Referee to sports player (rugby)
- Arthur J S Hall and Co v Simmons: Advocate to client
- Kent v Griffiths: In limited circumstances, ambulance service to emergency callers
Where has case law established duties of care DO NOT EXIST?
Soldier to colleague per Mulcahy v Ministry of Defence
Fire service to emergency called per Capital & Counties v Hampshire County Council
Do the Police owe a duty of care?
As a general rule the Police do not owe a duty of care to individuals, only to the public at large
This is a public policy driven thing
In which case were the police exonerated from liability on the basis that they did not owe a duty of care to any individual and why?
Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire because it was held that their duty was to the public at large
Appears to be a policy decision
If duty had been imposed on the police in the case of Hill the duty to owed to the public would be too wide
Every time the police failed to apprehend a criminal or prevent a road traffic accident they would be liable in a civil claim. The duty would be too onerous.
What were the facts of Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire?
Jacqueline Hill was the final victim of the Yorkshire ripper. Her mother made a claim against the chief constable on the grounds that the police had been negligent in their detection and detention of Sutcliffe.
In 2018 in the ________ case, the Supreme Court held unanimously that Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire was a misinterpretation of the law and that there is no general rule that, in the prevention and investigation of crime, the police are free from liability
Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police
Per Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police the police owe what?
A duty of care to avoid causing, by a positive act, foreseeable personal injury to another person
What are some examples of a positive act the police may take?
Arresting someone is a positive act
Where an act is negligently performed, the police are liable for any injury caused to the person being arrested, and also for any injury that the person who is being arrested cause to another person
so long as that injury is a foreseeable consequence of the police’s positive actions
What are some other instances where the police may owe a duty of care?
1) Where they have assumed responsibility for someone or someone has been entrusted into their care: Kirkham v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police
2) To take action with reasonable care: Rigby v Chief Constable of Northumbria Police
Which case threw into doubt the established duty for police and what is needed to fully interpret the decision?
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis v DSD and another
a test case
What are the facts of Kirkham v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police and why did the court find a duty of care was owed?
Where the police have assumed a responsibility for someone or someone has been entrusted to their care, the police owe a duty of care to that person.
Suicidal prisoner – police failed to pass on relevant risk info to prison authorities.
which cases confirmed Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire?
Brooks v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis
Osman v UK
Smith Chief Constable of Sussex Police
