Tort Of Negligence Flashcards
What does tort of Negligence requires claimant to prove 3 things?
1)Duty of Care
2)Breach of the duty of care
3)Damage
What is Duty of care?
-Donoghue v Stevenson - established the neighbour principle ‘love thy neighbour principles’
-Caparo v Dickman adopt three part test to decide whether D owes duty of care
What 3 test did Caparo v Dickman adopt?
1)Is harm reasonably foreseeable (Yes always)-Haley v London Electricity Board
2)Proximity closeness relationship or distance-Watson v British Boxing Board of Control
3)Fair and reasonable to impose a DOC-Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire
What is Breach of the Duty of Care?
Reasonable person test-Blyth v Birmingham Waterworks Co
-Look at Special Characteristic of Defendant that must be considered
What Special Characteristic of Defendant that must be considered?
A learner (Reasonable person) -(Nettleship vs Weston)
A specialist (Higher standard)-(Bolam v Friern)
A child (Low standard)-(Mullin and Richards)
What are the 4 risk factors
1)Size of the risk-In Bolton v Stone
2)The importance of the activity-Watt v Hertfordshire County Council Facts
3)The Practicality of precautions-Latimer v AEC
4)The potential seriousness of the injury-Paris v Stepney
What is Size of risk?
Reasonable person does not need to take care against minor risk but does against big risk
What is the importance of the activity?
reasonable person would take extra risk if there are benefits in taking the risk
What is the Practicality of precautions?
simply cost too much to eliminate risk all together.However the benefits outweighs the cost the D should take all reasonable precautions
What is the potential seriousness of the injury?
D is expected to take great care if known to the defendant to be more vulnerable the higher standard of care is expected
Damage contain 2 parts?
1)Causation
2)Remoteness of Damage
What is Causation?
-“but for” test is used
-Barnett v Kensington and Chelsea Hospital
What is Remoteness of Damage?
losses that are reasonably foreseeable can be recovered which means some outcomes are so unlikely or so remote that nobody could have predicted them
-Wagon v Mound-Damage could not be foreseen it was too remote
What is the Thin skull rule?
“you must take your victim as you find him”
-Smith v Leech Brian and Co
