Lecture 2

Question 1

What is Negligence?

Answer 1

Negligence happens when someone does (or doesn’t do) something they should have, causing harm to another person.

Question 2

What is an “Act” and an “Omission”?

Answer 2

Act: Something you do.
Omission: Something you don’t do.

Question 3

What does Negligence allow the injured person to do?

Answer 3

It allows the injured person to seek compensation when someone fails to take care of them.

Question 4

What must be proven for a negligence claim?

Answer 4

There must be harm. You can’t sue just because someone was negligent; actual harm is required.

Question 5

What are the 4 key elements of negligence?

Answer 5

Duty of Care
Breach of Duty
Causation
Remoteness

Question 6

What is a Duty of Care?

Answer 6

A legal responsibility to avoid causing harm.

Question 7

Give examples of where a Duty of Care exists.

Answer 7

Doctors to patients
Drivers to road users
Employers to employees

Question 8

What does Duty of Care limit?

Answer 8

It limits when someone can be sued for negligence and prevents everyone from being responsible for every careless act.

Question 9

What case set the standard for Duty of Care?

Answer 9

Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) – A woman got sick after finding a snail in her drink, setting the standard for manufacturers owing a duty of care to consumers.

Question 10

What is Lord Atkin’s Neighbour Principle?

Answer 10

You owe a duty of care to those closely and directly affected by your actions.

Question 11

What was the two-stage test proposed by Anns v Merton (1978)?

Answer 11

Is there a close relationship?
Are there reasons not to impose a duty?

Question 12

What is the three-part test introduced by Caparo v Dickman (1990)?

Answer 12

Was harm foreseeable?
Was there proximity (a close relationship)?
Is it fair, just, and reasonable to impose a duty?

Question 13

How are modern cases handled regarding Duty of Care?

Answer 13

Courts use established categories (like doctor-patient) to decide Duty of Care in new cases.

Question 14

What did the court clarify in Robinson v Chief Constable (2018)?

Answer 14

The Caparo test isn’t always strict. Novel claims should be judged by what is fair and reasonable.

Question 15

What happened in the McFarlane v Tayside (2000) case?

Answer 15

A couple claimed compensation for a failed vasectomy. The courts allowed damages for pregnancy and birth, but not for the cost of raising the child.

Question 15

What were the different views of the judges in McFarlane v Tayside (2000)?

Answer 15

Lord Steyn: It wouldn’t be fair to make the NHS pay for raising the child.
Lord Hope: You can’t put a price on a child’s life.

Question 16

What are the basic elements of Negligence?

Answer 16

Duty of Care, Breach, Causation, and Remoteness.