Negligence Flashcards
elements of the offence
Does the Defendent owe the plaintiff a DoC?
Did the defendant breach their duty of care?
Does anything limit the D’s liability
2 elements to establish if a DoC is owed
D v S: neighbour principle;
○ “You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour”.
○ “Persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in my contemplation.”
How to establish if they breached DoC
D v S: Did they fail to take reasonable care, which led to reasonably foreseeable damage?
facts of D v S
Donoghue’s friend buys her a ginger beer. [No contractual relationship]
Opaque bottle. [No opportunity for immediate examination.]
D drinks the ginger beer, upon reaching the end of the bottle discovers a decomposing snail
D. suffers from shock and gastroenteritis. [Suffered an injury/harm.]
She attempts to seek compensation from the court
facts of Grant v Australian Knitting Mills
Grant purchased Woollen underpants from JM and Co
Grant was a ‘fully qualified medical man’
Experienced a rash and was diagnosed with dermatitis
The dermatitis spread, at times his doctor feared that he might die
Seeking compensation from the manufacturer (not the store)
Eggshell Skull Rule
If harm was foreseeable no matter the state of the victim you are liable for all the damage. Grant
causation
Causation; did the defendants actions cause the harm or loss or would it have happened anyway
contributory negligence
Contributory negligence; if you are partly responsible for the harm - then you may not be entitled to full compensation. Eg. Grant wearing underpants for a week straight