Negligence - Duty of Care Essay

Words: 3559
Pages: 15
Open Document
EXISTENCE OF A DUTY

Before 1932 there was no generalised duty of care in negligence. The tort did exist and was applied in particular situations where the courts had decided that a duty should be owed, eg, road accidents, bailments or dangerous goods. In Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562, Lord Atkin attempted to lay down a general principle which would cover all the circumstances where the courts had already held that there could be liability for negligence. He said:

"The rule that you are to love your neighbour becomes in law, you must not injure your neighbour; and the lawyer's question, Who is my neighbour? receives a restricted reply. You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee …show more content…
In recent years the courts have identified a wide range of factors that may be relevant to the denial of a duty of care. For example, a duty of care may not exist where:

(a) The claimant is the author of his own misfortune (Philcox v Civil Aviation Authority, The Times, 8 June 1995).

(b) A duty of care would lead to unduly defensive practices by defendants seeking to avoid claims for negligence with detrimental effects on their performance of some public duty (Hill v CC of West Yorkshire [1988] 2 All ER 238, and X (minors) v Bedfordshire CC [1995] 3 All ER 353).

(c) Awards of damages against a public authority exercising a public function would have an impact upon the resources available to the authority to perform its duties, both in terms of the damages and costs, and in terms of the resources required to investigate and defend spurious claims (X (minors) v Bedfordshire CC [1995] 3 All ER 353).

(d) A duty of care would cut across a complex statutory framework established by Parliament for regulating particular circumstances, such as the regulation of financial markets (Yuen Kun-yeu v AG of Hong Kong [1987] 2 All ER 705) or the protection of children at risk (X (minors) v Bedfordshire CC [1995] 3 All ER 353).

(e) There is an alternative remedy available to an aggrieved claimant, such as a statutory right of appeal from the decision of a government officer or department, or judicial review, or another source of compensation, such as the criminal
Show More

Related Documents: Negligence - Duty of Care Essay

HND BUS U05 ACNB Lecture 7 1 Essay

Contract and Negligence for Business LECTURE SLIDES Duty of care Learning outcome Understand principles of liability in negligence in business activities Aim of the session To review how negligence differs in tort and contract law with emphasis on duty of care TOPIC 7 UNIT 5: Aspects of Contract and Negligence for Business Negligence Negligence is now the most significant tort Whereas other torts protect particular interests (for example, defamation protects people’s reputation), negligence may be…

Words 604 - Pages 3

Essay on Society and Culture

has a duty of care and finally negligence. The claimant can take an action against him under the tort law. Rules: To make a legal research, it is necessay that what legal rules would be applicable on the perspective of such problem. In this case the claimant (she) can claim against the cafe owner as to negligence and duty of care. Appcation: In the following problem, negligence and duty of care are noticed behind the sale of sandwich to the customer. If the definition of negligence and duty…

Words 581 - Pages 3

Four Elements Of Negligence

The Four (or Five) Elements of Negligence Introduction Wikipedia defines Negligence as “a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness of another.” According to Elements of a Negligence Case “injury.findlaw.com, “when someone acts in a careless way and causes an injury to another person, under the legal principle of ‘negligence’ the careless person will be legally…

Words 1605 - Pages 7

Coleman Product Safety Recall

actions and the outcome of this is injury to other persons, the a negligence of tort can arise. A suit for negligence, must establish four elements: the defendant had a duty of care; the defendant breached that duty of care owed him or her; the breach directly caused the plaintiff's injuries; and the plaintiff did in fact suffer physical or mental harm or injury (Seaquist & Coulter, 2012). Requirements for Negligence Duty of Care “Duty of care is the standard of behavior expected of a person in a particular…

Words 1404 - Pages 6

Tort Law of Negligence Essay

Torts of negligence are breaches of duty that results to injury to another person to whom the duty breached is owed. Like all other torts, the requirements for this are duty, breach of duty by the defendant, causation and injury(Stuhmcke and Corporation.E 2001). However, this form of tort differs from intentional tort as regards the manner the duty is breached. In torts of negligence, duties are breached by negligence and not by intent. Negligence is conduct that falls below the standard of care established…

Words 1562 - Pages 7

Kelly V. Movie Theatre: Negligence

theories, if any, can Kelly recover from movie theatre? Kelly v. Movie Theatre Negligence Negligence is conduct that falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm and is proven by the following elements: a duty of care was owed by a defendant, that duty was breached, and that breach was the actual and proximate cause of the damages to the plaintiff. Special Duty-Land occupier, Business Invitee The movie theater is the land occupier, one…

Words 1505 - Pages 7

Unit 3 2 Essay

•tfurthe Negligence is a term used in civil law when breaches in health and safety have occurred and have resulted in injury or harm to another person or to property. Negligence claims are closely related to duty of care. To be able to win a claim for negligence, you need to have been owed a duty of care by the person who caused the harm or damage; you must be able to show that the duty of care was breached and that the injury or damage was a result of the breach of duty of care. The common defences…

Words 811 - Pages 4

Something: Tort Law and Property Damage Plaintiff Essay

Negligence The prima facie case for negligence requires: Duty is owed to the plaintiff by the defendant Breach of the Duty Causation: The defendant caused the harm to occur. Damages: The plaintiff suffers harm. Duty In order to hold a defendant liable for negligence, the defendant must owe a duty of reasonable care to the plaintiff. Two issues arise in terms of duty of reasonable care: Foreseeability Standard of Care Foreseeability The duty of care must be toward a foreseeable plaintiff…

Words 837 - Pages 4

Contract Law Essay

Introduction: What is negligence? (Duty of care, breach of duty, causation, remoteness and defence) The meaning of each of these 5 parts which consist negligence. Clinical negligence and the difference it has with other type of negligence. (Bolam Case and Caparo v Dickmen) Bolam case V Bolitho Break down the discussion ( within the question there are 4 legal matters to consider) Body: Throat pain. The doctor according to Bolam always owe a duty of care toward the patient…

Words 703 - Pages 3

Essay on Commercial law case study

the Arctic Ice Skating Rink owe Charles a duty of care? Whether any defenses might be raised by the defendant? Did the surgeon have the responsibility for the unsuccessful operation which leads to Charles spending longer in hospital? Relevant law: Negligence involves the failure to exercise reasonable care and skill, which includes both advertent and inadvertent acts and omissions. People would be negligent when they fail to take reasonable care to prevent loss, damage or injury to others…

Words 1360 - Pages 6