Tort Law - Breach of Duty Flashcards
Bolton v Stone general
Cricket club
Mansfield v Weetabix Ltd general
Malignant insulinoma
How was Social Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015 largely response to perceived compensation culture?
Factors laid down therein were already considered under common law
Barnett v Chelsea and Kensington Hospital JUDGMENT
Do not take sickness into account
Part 1 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987
Statutory defence if supplier/producer/manufacturer could not have reasonably avoided the risk due to lack of medical/scientific knowledge at the time
Who in minority in Nettleship v Weston thought skill should matter?
LJ Salmond
What two disadvantages to the Learned Hand Formula are there?
Assumes L (gravity) can have an accurate value, and distasteful to allow infliction of harm in the name of economic efficiency
Unusual susceptibility to injury through allergy needed to be considered for gravity of harm
Wither v Perry Chain
Condon v Basi per Sir John Donaldson MR
Higher degree of care required by a professional player
Mullin v Richards judgment
Allow attribution of age and maybe even gender
Hucks v Cole judgment
Negligent despite others would have done same as easily avoidable and taught in prelim stages of medicine
Mustill J in Thompson v Smith Shiprepairers
Employer needs to keep up to date but ‘slow to blame him for not ploughing a lone furrow’
Thompson v Smith Shiprepairers
D not expected to ‘plough a lone furrow’
Wells v Couper general
Door knoc
What case stated that foreseeability is always a question of degree, and Bolton does NOT mean it is justifiable to always neglect risk of small magnitude?
The Wagon Mound (No.2)
What defence is found in Part 1 Consumer Protection Act 1987?
‘Development risks’ defence
What case explored the standard expected of alternative medicine?
Shakoor v Situ
What did Compensation Act 2006 do?
Restated current common law, requiring courts to have regard to if liability might prevent/discourage desirable activity
Phillips v Whiteley (William) Ltd general
jeweller, ear, infection
CoA said irrelevant if you could show a standard almost applies to an activity
Chipchase v British Titan Products
Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee general
ECT broken bones
Paris v Stepney BC general
One eye, goggles, nail
What approach to BoD was accepted overall in Bolton v Stone?
Magnitude of risk is part of wider inquiry, not ultimate test in itself, so probability is only one factor
Easily avoidable risk, elementary teaching, but others would have done same
Hucks v Cole
What case shows appellate courts should not interfere with trial judge’s finding of primary facts?
Benmax v Austin Motor
L&O on Paris v Stepney BC
Shows ‘time dimension’ of negligence, as likely it would be negligent both not to give employees with one eye AND two eyes goggles
Sikh wedding, egg
Haley v London Electricity Board
Whipper v Jones judgment
Not foreseeable so not negligent
Baker v Quantum Clothing Group
Look to Health and Safety regulations (in this case on noise) for standard of care expected
Edward Wong Finance v Johnson Stokes general
Conveyancing solicitors
Who tried to explain Reid’s support in Latimer v AEC?
L&O
Knee plastic flag
Sutton v Syston Rugby Football Club
What case suggested res for res ipsa loquitur in medical negligence needs to give rise to a negligent act needing no expert evidence?
Ratcliffe v Plymouth
What is the Learned Hand Formula?
Breach is when B (prevention) is less than PL (probability and gravity of injury)
Phillips v Whiteley (William) Ltd judgment
Reasonable care shaped by nature of task
Name five influencing factors for BoD
Timing, context, gravity of harm, likelihood of damage and cost of precautions
Leamington spa, broken leg
Condon v Basi
What case suggested an RP would only act if damage was probably/likely?
Bolton v Stone
Where was the basic test set down for BoD?
Blyth v Birmingham Water Works
What does Mulheron argue about the applicability of Bolitho?
Generally recognised as a ‘rare’ occurrence, triggered by a degree of ‘Wednesbury unreasonableness’
What does res ipsa loquitur mean?
‘The thing speaks for itself’ - C can succeed even without causation evidence
Mansfield v Weetabix Ltd judgment
Allow unknown disability to be taken account of
The ‘Learned Hand’ formula comes from what case?
United States v Carroll Towing
Sutton v Syston Rugby Football Club general
Knee plastic flag
What are at least four of the arguments that Cane considers AGAINST fault principle as basis for payment of compensation?
Bears no relation to degree of fault, bears no relation to means of tortfeasors, harmdoer may be held legally liable without moral culpability or vice versa, fault principle pays little attention to conduct/needs of V, justice may require compensation without fault, often difficult to adjudicate allegations of fault and fault principle contributes to blaming culture and discourages self-responsibility
What three problems does Cane point to in adjudicating allegations of fault?
Difficulties in the nature of the legal test (abstract), problems of proof (happen quickly) and concentrating too much on one specific cause to exclusion of other evidence (which statistical investigation would throw light on, e.g. altering surface of road)
What does Medical Innovation Bill 2015 propose?
Doctor allowed to depart from ‘accepted body of opinion’ provided the decision is responsible, where responsible is detailed as requiring things like consultation with other doctors and detailed records on treatment and effects
DA v North East London Strategic HA general
Two mothers giving birth, brain damage to one not helped
Khou v Gunapathy judgment
Singapore CoA emphasised narrow construction of Bolitho - ‘unreasonable’ is not a ‘merits-based’ question of expert opinion
How does Lee argue externally generated norms make an important epistemic contribution to the RP standard?
External standards by experts in a wide range of areas
King v Sussex Ambulance judgment
Altruistic purpose made them not liable
Gold v Haringey Health Authority
Bolam applies to any profession requiring a special skill/knowledge/experience
Whippey v Jones general
Great dane, hector
Brown v Rolls Royce judgment
Failure to take a common precaution does not NECESSARILY connote negligence - just places evidential burden on D
Why did Lord Saatchi propose Medical Innovation Bill 2015?
Believed Bolam encourages doctors to act conservatively and not be experimental
What statute is relevant for timing as an influencing factor for BoD?
Part 1 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987
What was one of the last jury cases?
Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee
Sub-prime mortgage, 90% of property value
Paratus AMC v Countrywide Surveyors
L&O use this case to suggest courts more likely to declare widespread practice negligent than medical practitioners
Edward Wong Finance v Johnson Stokes
Decide reasonable care by nature of task
Phillips v Whiteley (William) Ltd
Roe v Minister of Health general
Disinfectant and anaesthetic glass vials
Very rare for individual to argue too costly to spend on prevention
Palmer v Cornwall CC
Barnett v Chelsea and Kensington Hospital general
Tea, arsenic, doctor ill
Industrial deafness, knitting mills
Baker v Quantum Clothing Group
Withers v Perry Chain general
Allergy, barrier cream
What case said Bolam requires the body to be ‘Both respective and responsible and experienced in [the] particular field of medicine’
Hills v Potter
What approach to BoD was accepted in parts of Bolton v Stone?
Greater probability of foreseeable harm
Why does Cane believe fault principle in BoD bears no relation to DEGREE of fault?
Courts rarely distinguish between negligence and error/mistake, despite knowing extreme carelessness is frequently committed with no/minor consequences
Door knob
Wells v Couper
Tesco v Pollard
No compliance with voluntary standard regulation was still fine but caution in drawing hard lines between voluntary and mandatory standards
Who argued ‘Reasonableness’ inevitably reflects male perspective because it’s a construct of patriarchal society and thus should be discarded
Martin
Nettleship v Weston general
Learner drivers
Smeldon v Whitworth general
Collapsed rugby scrum
United States v Carroll Towing general
‘learned hand’ formula
What does Cane argue Bolton v Stone shows?
English law does not require D to pay for gain/benefit at the expense of V (e.g. no need to build higher walls), unjustly enriching them, but justice may require compensation without fault
Smeldon v Whitworth judgment
Referee failed to apply standardd phase sequence - no need for reckless disregard, just simply oversight
What case does Cane rely on to suggest justice may require compensation without fault?
Bolton v Stone
Ratcliffe v Plymouth
Res in medical negligence needs to give rise to a negligent act needing no expert evidence (e.g. cutting off the right instead of left leg)
Who highlighted the ‘time dimension’ of negligence?
L&O
Hucks v Cole general
Easily avoidable risk, elementary teaching, but others would have done same
Coxall v Goodyear GB general
‘nursemaid school of negligence’
Blake v Galloway general
Bark in eye
What judge in what case showed lack of obviously compelling reason for a lower standard of care in emergency context?
King v Sussex Ambulance - LJ Buxton
Bolitho v City and Hackney Health Authority
Body of opinion needs to be ‘responsible’ with a ‘logical basis’ and need to show EXPERTS have weighed up risks and benefits of treatment
What case suggested simple oversight (not reckless disregard) is enough to breach duty of care?
Smeldon v Whitworth
Name at least two cases on timing being an influencing factor for BoD
Roe v Minister of Health; Mage v Trustees of the Birmingham Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church; Smith v P & O
Baker v Quantum Clothing Group general
Industrial deafness, knitting mills
From what jurisdiction is the Learned Hand formula?
America
Horseman and cameraman
Woolridge v Sumner
Failure to take a common precaution does not NECESSARILY connote negligence - just places evidential burden on D
Brown v Rolls Royce
Bark in eye
Blake v Galloway
What two cases does Lee rely on to show effect of changing and evolving knowledge on past effect/damage?
Thompson v Smith Shiprepairers; Bolam/Bolitho compromise
Maynard v West Midlands Regional Health
If D professes a special skill, held to professional person with that skill
Judge cannot choose one opinion over another if both satisfy Bolam test
Maynard v West Midlands Regional Health Authority
What did Lord Reid in Bolton state about cost of precautions?
Inappropriate to take them into account
Look to Health and Safety regulations (in this case on noise) for standard of care
Baker v Quantum Clothing Group
Roe v Minister of Health judgment
Assess if D had been negligent in light of knowledge existing at the time - no benefit of hindsight
Weinrib
‘Cost of precautions is irrelevant’ in English law
Haley v London Electricity Board
Sikh wedding, egg
Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board judgment
Exception to Bolam when negligently fail to warn of ‘material risks’ which is something the RP in C’s position would regard as significant
Latimer v AEC general
Flooding, sawdust, close factory
Bolam applies to question of amount of info a medical practitioner needs to give to patient on risks
Sidaway v Board of Governors of Bethlem
What case made it clear ‘unreasonable’ from Bolitho is not a ‘merits-based’ question?
Khou v Gunapathy
Wilsher v Essex Area Health Authority
HoL - although Bolam gave scope for difference in medical opinion, judge could still find one to be negligent
Pearce v United Bristol Healthcare
CoA used Bolitho to extend Sideway so that if there is a significant risk which would affect normal person’s judgment, normal responsibility of doctor to inform patient.
LJ Salmond in Nettleship v Weston
Thought skill should matter
King v Sussex Ambulance general
Paramedic fell helping patient from home to ambulance
Dermatitis, oil machine, barrier cream
Brown v Rolls Royce
who highlighted the Compensation Act 2006 is narrowly drafted and gives no wide reassurance as a result?
Morris
Paramedic fell helping patient from home to ambulance
King v Sussex Ambulance
What does Cane believe the fault principle does in terms of removing self-responsibility?
Focuses on individual’s rights against others, rather than their self-responsibility
Benmax v Austin Motor
Appellate courts should not interfere with trial judge’s finding of primary facts (unless perverse), but can evaluate evidence to work out proper inference
Palmer v Cornwall CC
Very rare for individual to argue too costly to spend on prevention
Edward Wong Finance v Johnson Stokes according to L&O
L&O suggest courts more likely to declare widespread practice negligent than medical practitioners
What judge and in what case suggested it was inappropriate to take cost of precautions into account?
Lord Reid in Bolton v Stone
Lee on Compensation Act 2006
Might lead to broader judicial enquiry of how decision impacts wider world, but ‘notoriously uncertain as to its effect and purpose’
Cricket club
Bolton v Stone
What approach to BoD was rejected in Bolton v Stone
Foreseeability
What two cases conflict on the duty of an employer to dismiss/not dismiss a willing employee?
Coxall v Goodyear GB; Withers v Perry Chain
How do L&O explain Reid’s support in Latimer v AEC, despite Bolton?
Qualification given in Bolton - if risk is so great as to require D to desist altogether, can be found negligent even if impractical to pursue activities in a safer fashion
Who highlighted how RP test can be used to justify discrimination?
Moran
Age is an allowed characteristic, and maybe even gender
Mullin v Richards
Sutton v Syston Rugby Football Club judgment
Rugby matches ‘obviously’ desirable activity and standard of care shouldn’t be set so high as to be discouraging
Aircraft do not usually crash so pilot was reasonably expected to explain why it did for res ipsa loquitur
George v Eagle Air Services
How is there cautionary wording in Social Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015?
Only requires courts to have regard to factors
Who said that Blyth is more of a normative than descriptive test?
Lee
Who highlighted the ‘“Cloggers’ Charter’ so higher league players need take more care even when playing with lower league
Geary
Mental disorder, dual carriageway
Widdowson v Newgate Meat Corp
What case states that If accident usually avoided in proper course of things, reasonable evidence accident arose for want of care
Scott v London and St Katherine Dock
Paratus AMC v Countrywide Surveyors general
Sub-prime mortgage, 90% of property value