Negligence Flashcards
What is the definition of negligence, including case and judge
Birmingham waterworks v Blythe baron Alderson ‘negligence is failing to do something which the ordinary person would do or doing something which the ordinary person would not do’
What are the 3 factors the claimant must prove to make a successful negligence claim
defendant owed a doc, doc was breached and that the breach was reasonably foreseeable
Which case set out the neighbour principle
Donoghue v Stevenson lord Atkins stated ‘ you must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you could reasonably foresee would hurt your neighbour..Your neighbour is someone who is so closely and directly affected by your act that you ought to have them in mind as being affected when directing thought to your act or omission’.
What did lord reid say about the neighbour principle
lord reid said that this should be a statement of principle
What are the 3 parts of the caparo dickman test
Foreseeability, Proximity and Fairness
What is meant by foreseeability in the caparo test
was the damage caused by defendant reasonably foreseeable to the defendant.
Subjective test as its judged on facts of each case
Case for caparo foreseeability
Kent v griffiths
What is meant by proximity in caparo dickman test
was relationship between c and d proximate enough for a duty to arise.
Case for caparo proximity
Bourhill v young
What is meant by fairness in the caparo test
would it be fair just and reasonable to impose a doc on d. Courts often find it’s not fair just and reasonable to impose a duty on public authorities like police because it may in turn lead to defensive policing therefore decreasing the quality of policing
Case for caparo fairness
Hill v chief constable of West Yorkshire police
Which case set out the current law on establishing a doc
Robinson v chief constable of West Yorkshire
Supreme court ‘was not hol intention to create a rigid test as this would be impractical…when deciding to impose duty courts should take more pragmatic (practical) approach ’
What exactly is the new law from Robinson v chief constable of West Yorkshire
There is no set test for establishing a doc
Judges can make decisions based on existing precedent, law can be developed incrementally
Caparo dickman can be used only for novel cases
What is a doc used for
To establish a legal relationship between the 2 parties
What is the standard of care
Defendants are judged against the reasonable man as set out by baron alderson. The reasonable man is an ordinary person performing the task competently , this is an objective standard. Eg. Reasonable driver, reasonable doctor etc.
Which case shows that the standard of care is objective
Vaughan v Menlove 1837. Defendants argument that he used his best judgment did not matter as his actions were judged objectively.
What is the standard of the reasonable learner and which case set this out
Learners are judged to the standard of the competent, more experienced person. Nettleship v Weston 1971. May seem unfair to learners however as far as motor incidents go insurance will cover and it would be unfair to say to the claimant that they can’t receive any compensation for injury just because defendant is still learning.
What is the standard for the reasonable child
Children are judged against the reasonable child of their age. Mullins v Richard’s 1998. Orchard v Lee 2009.
What is the standard for the reasonable professional and what case set this out.
Bolam v friends barnett hospital committee, claimant was not informed of risk that came with treatment and was not given relaxant drugs, substantial body of opinion said that drugs should only be given with reason and there was no reason this case therefore d was not liable. 2 stage test: 1. did ds actions fall below the standard of the ordinary competent member of that profession 2. Would there be a substantial body within that profession who would support ds actions. If the answer to the first is no and the second is yes then d is not liable.
What did Wiltshire v Essex area health authority set out
Trainee doctors are held to the same standard as professionals
What do courts first consider when it comes to risk factors
Should standard of care be lowered or raised
Would reasonable person have taken more or less care in same situation
What risk factors are considered
Special characteristics, size of risk, public benefit, precautions taken, were risks known
Special characteristics case
Paris v Stepney borough council - employers knew risk of eye injury was serious, although it was not necessary at the time to provide all workers with goggles they should have provided the worker with them. Cost of goggles was v small in comparison to the consequence
Cases regarding the size of risk
Bolton v stone, risk was small so defendant wasn’t expected to take great precaution. Haley v London electricity board, risk was high so greater precautions were expected.
