Negligence Flashcards
Definition of Negligence?
Negligence is based upon a duty of care and has 3 main stages.
What is stage 1 of Negligence?
Stage 1- The D must owe a duty of care.
Donoghue v Stevenson- you will owe a duty of care to your “neighbour”. This is someone who is directly affected by your actions.
What case allows you to not use the Caparo v Dickman test under stage 1?
Robinson, if the duty is obvious you can use this.
What is stage 2 of Negligence?
Stage 2- The D must be in breach of their duty.
Alderson B in Blyth v Birmingham Waterworks defines a breach as “doing something a reasonable man wouldn’t do or not doing something a reasonable man would do”
What is the second thing we must consider in stage 2 of negligence?
Characteristics.
Bolam/Bolitho- expert or experienced person
Nettleship v Weston-inexperienced or learner
Mullins v Richard’s- Children
What is the third thing we need to consider under stage 2?
Risk Factors, there are three to consider.
Probability of harm
Magnitude of risk
Cost and practicality of precautions
Explain probability of harm.
Bolton v Stone- If there is a higher probability of harm then more care needs to be taken by the D as harm is more likely.
Explain magnitude of risk.
Paris v Stepney Council- we need to consider how serious the injury could potentially be, the bigger the risk of a serious injury jury then the more care needs to be taken.
Explain Cost and Practicality of Precautions.
Latimer- If the cost of taking precautions to eliminate the risk is too great then the D is not in breach of their duty.
What is the side rule for stage 2?
Possible benefits of the risk/ social utility- if the risk is worth taking because of the ways it benefits wider society then the D will not be in breach- Watt v Hertfordshire Council.
What is Stage 3 of negligence?
Stage 3- The breach of duty must have caused the damage to C.
What is factual causation under negligence?
Barnett v Chelsea hospital- “But, For” test.
What is legal causation under negligence?
Wagon mound- Remoteness of damage. This mean me whether the damage to C was reasonably foreseeable meaning it was not too remote.
Side rule for stage 3 of negligence?
Hughes v Lord Advocate- D does not need to predict the precise way in which the injury was caused as long as the same type of injury was foreseeable.
What is the third part of stage 3 of Negligence?
There must be no new intervening acts.
Thin skull rule- Robinson v post office “the D must take C as they find them”
