Law of Negligence

Question 1

Donoghue V Stevenson

Answer 1

The ginger beer contained a decomposed snail. Mrs Donoghue suffered from personal injury due to this and proceeded to claim against the manufacturer which was successful and resulted in the establishment of the modern law of negligence and the neighbour test.

Question 2

Robinson (2018)

Answer 2

there will be a duty if you can find a relevant precedent

Question 3

What must you prove?

Answer 3

must prove that ‘the defendant owed the claimant a duty of care

Question 4

3 stage Caparo Test
Caparo V Dickman
(FORESEEABILITY)

Answer 4

is it reasonably foreseeable that Ds act or omission will cause damage to C?

Bourhill V Young = C did not see the accident but heard it and went voluntarily to look at it causing her to suffer a miscarriage. The damage to her was not reasonably foreseeable.

Question 5

3 stage Caparo Test
Caparo V Dickman
(PROXIMITY)

Answer 5

is there proximity between the parties to create a duty?
this can be through time, a physical closeness (space) or due to a relationship

McLoughlin V O’Brien = Cs family were involved in a car crash, caused by D’s negligence, in which her daughter died. She went immediately to the hospital where she witnessed the immediate aftermath of the accident - husband and children badly injured. This was considered as sufficient proximity because of her relationship to the injured.

Question 6

3 stage Caparo Test
Caparo V Dickman
(JUST + REASONABLE)

Answer 6

is it fair, just + reasonable to impose a duty?
the courts will not automatically impose a duty if it would be against public policy i.e. if it would open the floodgates to litigation

Hill V Ch. Const W.Yorks = the mother of one of his Vs claimed the police owed a duty as they failed to catch him which meant he went on to murder her daughter. it was not in the public interest to impose a duty on the police

Question 7

Breach of Duty
The reasonable man test

Answer 7

To decide if D has breached his duty, the court considers what was expected of him and did he fail to do it, or do it but to a poor standard. D is judged against the standards of the reasonable competent man doing the same activity as D