Negligence, Damage Flashcards
What are the two parts of the third step of the test for negligence (The duty broken must have caused the damage or injury)?
1.Factual causation- Did D cause the damage
2.Legal causation- Remoteness of damage: the damage must not be too remote from the actions of the defendant.
For factual causation, the ‘But for’ test is used. What is it?
But for the actions of D, would C have suffered harm or damage? If this cannot be proven, then there’s no need to move onto legal causation.
A case example of factual causation and the ‘But for’ test is in the case of Barnett v chelsea and Kingsington Hospital (1969). Explain what happened.
Mr Barnett went to hospital complaining of severe stomach pains and vomiting. He was seen by a nurse who phoned the doctor on duty. The doctor told her to send him home and contact his GP in the morning. He then died five hours later. Had the doctor examined him, there would still have been nothing he could have done to save him.
