Tort Law Flashcards
What are the elements of negligence?
Duty of Care
Breach of Duty
Causation
What are some established duty situation?
Road users to each other
Road users to pedestrians
doctor to patient
employer to employee
Teacher to pupil
Parent to child
What is the Caparo test for novel duty situations
- Foreseeability (was it reasonably foreseeable that the defendants actions could cause harm to another person)
- Proximity (Sufficient Link between the parties)
- Fair, Just and Reasonable
When will a duty of care arise for omissions?
- If an individual has control over them
- If someone has assumed responsibility over them
- If someone has created a dangerous situation
- Special Relationship
What is the two stage test in determining whether someone has breached their duty of care?
- What was the standard of care they ought to have demonstrated?
- Did their conduct fall below this standard?
What is the standard of care in normal circumstances?
Objective test of what a reasonable man would do in the circumstances of that particular case
What is the standard of care for a child?
Standard of that of a reasonable child of the same age
What standard of care must someone with a specialised skill be held to?
Person must show standard of care of what would be expected of the person in that profession.
Should act in accordance with a responsible body of opinion (doing what others with the same skill consider reasonable)
What is the but for test?
if the harm would not have occurred but for the breach of duty, the breach caused the harm.
What is the test for remoteness?
The damage must have been foreseeable. The foreseeable damage must have been the same kind of damage which actually occurred
When is the chain of causation broken by a third party?
Chain of causation is unlikely to be broken by an action which the defendant ought to have foreseen as a likely consequence of their negligence
When is the chain of causation broken by the claimant?
Claimant must act highly unreasonable to break the chain of causation
What are the defences to negligence?
Consent (Voluntary assumption of risk)
Contributory Negligence
Illegality
Necessity
What elements must be present for the defence of consent to apply?
The claimant must have had full knowledge of the nature and extent of the risk and that they willingly consented to the risk of being injured by the defendants negligence
What are the elements of illegality for it be used as a defence?
There must be a link between the illegal act and the tort committed by the defendant.
The illegal act must be sufficiently serious.
What are the elements for contributory negligence for it to be used as a defence?
The claimant has been at fault
The fault has contributed to the infliction of injury
And has contributed to the extent of their injuries
What is the objective of tort, what position should it put the claimant in?
the position the claimant was in if the accident hadn’t occurred
What are general damages?
These are to compensate for pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by the injury
What are special damages?
These cover specific items of loss which have arisen and will arise in the future as a result of the defendants actions (capable of precise calculation)