Negligence Flashcards
What are the three elements of negligence?
1) A duty of care
2) The duty is breached
3) The breach causes damage
Where does the idea of a duty of care and the modern law of negligence originate from?
Donoghue v Stevenson
What is the three-part Caparo v Dickman test?
1) Was damage/harm reasonably foreseeable?
2) Is there sufficient proximity and closeness between the claimant and defendant?
3) Is it fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty?
When should the Caparo v Dickman test be applied?
In new and novel cases
Which case set a precedent for a duty of care to be established in similar cases?
Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire
How is a breach of a duty of care shown?
The defendant’s conduct will be objectively judged against that of a reasonable person
In which case did the defendant act as a reasonable person in their profession?
Bolam v Friern Hospital Management - the doctor followed procedure that was supported by a body of medical opinion
How are learners judged?
Against the standard of a competent, experienced person - Nettleship v Weston
How are children judged?
Against people their own age - Mullins v Richards
How are amateurs judged?
Against the standards of a competent amateur - Wells v Cooper
What are the risk factors?
1) Special characteristics of the claimant
2) Size of the risk
3) Available precautions
4) Whether the risk was known
5) Public benfit
Give an example of a special characteristic of the claimant
Paris v Stepney Borough Council - blind in one eye and should have been given goggles
Give an example of the size of the risk
Bolton v Stone - very low risk, the cricket club was surrounded by a 17 foot high fence
Give an example of precautions taken
Latimer v AEC ltd - sawdust was put on wet floor which was deemed a reasonable precaution to prevent slips
In which case was the risk unknown?
Roe v Minister of Health - invisible cracks in the glass
Give an example of a case with public benefit
Watt v Hertfordshire CC
How is it shown that the breach caused damage?
Factual causation and foreseeability
What is the test for factual causation?
‘But for’ - Barnett v Chelsea Kensington Hospitals
What is the test for remoteness?
The Waggon Mound
What must be foreseeable
Hughes v Lord Advocate - the type of harm must be foreseeable, not the manner in which it occurs
In which case was the type of harm not foreseeable?
Doughty v Turner Engineering - chemical explosion caused severe burn (it was not known that asbestos could react in that way)
What is the rule of ‘take your victim as you find them’?
Thin skull rule - Smith v Leech Brain
Who is the burden of proof on?
The claimant unless res ispa loquitur is alleged
What is the three part test for res ispa loquitur?
1) the defendant controlled the situation where injury occurred
2) the events would not have occurred without negligence
3) there is no other explanation
