Negligence - Breach of duty and causation Flashcards
What is the test for a breach of duty ?
1) Courts asses how a defendant ought to have acted
2) Whether defendant fell below this standard of care.
What is the reasonable persons test?
Negligence is omission to do something that a reasonable man would do (objective and impartial test).
What is the rule for a skilled Defendant?
Held to higher standard of reasonable person of their expertise [Bolam] (not negligence if actions supported by professional body).
What is the rule for an unskilled Defendant?
If undertaking task that requires skill, they will be assumed to possess that skill.
What are the relevant factors in achieving standard of care?
- Magnitude of risk
- likelihood of risk
- cost and practicality
- defendant purpose
- common practice.
What is factual causation in negligence?
The ‘but for’ test - would it have been avoided ‘but for’ breach of duty.
What is material contribution?
Cases where multiple causes contribution to claimants accident (they are all liable)
What is a divisible injury?
Each D is liable for their share so C can sue them all separately
What is indivisible injury?
Each D is liable for all of C’s loss so one can be sued for all (can claim contributions from D)
What are intervening acts in legal causation?
instinctive acts of third parties wont break chain of causation but negligent and reckless ones will. Acts of C can break chain if entirely unreasonable in circumstances.
What is remoteness of damage in legal causation?
losses must have been reasonably foreseeable - exemptions are similar in type and egg shell skull rule
What are the two steps in establishing causation?
1) factual causation
2) legal causation
What is the similar in type rule?
If damage is foreseeable regardless of how it actually occurs it is still considered foreseeable.
