Duty of Care Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is the legal definition of negligence?
Negligence is the breach of a legal duty to take care by the defendant, resulting in loss or damage to the claimant. It is a legal concept distinct from lay ideas of carelessness or recklessness.
What are the six elements required to establish a negligence claim?
Loss or damage of a recognised kind
Duty of care owed by the defendant
Breach of that duty
Causation (in fact and law)
Remoteness (damage must be reasonably foreseeable)
Defences (valid defences may defeat the claim)
What types of loss are recoverable in negligence?
Physical injury (e.g. broken arm)
Psychiatric harm (must be medically recognised, e.g. reactive depression)
Property damage (e.g. damaged house roof)
Consequential economic loss (e.g. lost wages due to injury)
Pure economic loss (e.g. financial loss due to negligent advice)
What is the general purpose of the duty of care inquiry?
A person is not liable for carelessness unless the law recognises a duty to be careful. Courts use this concept to set legal limits on when claims can arise.
What test was proposed in Donoghue v Stevenson [1932]?
Lord Atkin’s neighbour principle
Lord Atkin’s neighbour principle:
You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions likely to injure your neighbour — those closely and directly affected by your actions.
How did Caparo v Dickman [1990] change the test?
Caparo introduced a three-stage test for novel cases:
- Foreseeability of harm
- Proximity between claimant and defendant
- Fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty
When is the Caparo test applied?
Only in novel cases where no established precedent exists. Most cases involve applying existing legal authority.
What is the general rule in omission cases?
There is no duty of care for a mere failure to act
What are the five main exceptions to the omissions rule?
- Statutory duty (e.g. Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957)
- Contractual duty (e.g. Stansbie v Troman)
- Control over the claimant (e.g. Reeves v Commissioner of Police)
- Assumption of responsibility (e.g. Barrett v MoD)
- Creation of danger (e.g. Goldman v Hargrave)
What is the duty of care of emergency services in omission cases?
- Ambulance: owe duty once they accept a 999 call
- Fire brigade: no duty to attend, but must not worsen situation
- Police: no duty to respond to alarms (Alexandrou v Oxford), but may owe a duty in other contexts (e.g. Reeves)
What is the general rule for acts of third parties?
There is no duty to prevent harm caused by third parties (Smith v Littlewoods), unless an exception applies.
What are the four main exceptions to this rule?
Proximity between claimant and defendant
Proximity between defendant and third party
Creation of danger by the defendant
Risk located on defendant’s premises
Do public bodies owe duties of care?
Yes, the same principles as private individuals apply. However, statutory powers and public policy can limit liability.
Even if a public body has a power (e.g. to take children into care), this does not impose a duty unless a recognised exception (e.g. assumption of responsibility) applies.
