Negligence

Negligence was defined in the case of Blythe v Birmingham Waterworks ‘failing to do something which a reasonable person would do (omission) or doing something which a reasonable person would not do (an act)’.

3 elements-

1.Duty of care

2.Breach of duty of care

3.Breach caused the damage to the claimant

Class of defendant-Standard of care differs for different classes of defendants

measure the reasonable person with objective test-
The objective test addresses the ‘reasonable person’ and asks ‘what would a reasonable person of ordinary prudence have done in the defendant’s situation?-Nettleship v Weston

VARYING THE STANDARD OF CARE
Factors raising or lowering the standard-


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Legal Causation. This includes remoteness of damage and type of foreseeable harm

Wagon Mound

Thin skull rule-underlying medical condition-Smith v Leech

2 main remidies in tort


injunctions, which aim to stop or prevent the behaviour which comprises the tort


damages, which aim to compensate the claimant financially



Types of losses-

Peculinary losses

Non-peculniary losses

financial losses

things that can't be fixed by money e.g pain and suffering

Damages

special damages

general damages

cover peculinary losses

cover non peculinary losses

Factual causation-But for test

Barnett v Chelsea

Mitigation=

a requirement that a person act toward others and the public with watchfulness, attention, caution and prudence that a reasonable person in the circumstances would’

A person breaches their duty of care when they fall below a particular standard of behaviour.

reducing risk of loss from the occurrence of any undesirable event.

Establishing a duty of care

statutory authority (road traffic act 1988)

Reason by analogy

existing precedent (donoghue v stevenson) or

The UK Supreme Court case of Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police (2018) states that there is no single test for establishing a duty of care and that what the claimant should do is:

Children-Standard of care judged with the same age

People in sport-higher degree of care required of a player in a First Division football match than of a player in a local league

Professionals-The standard is ‘the standard of a reasonable person of that profession’.