law of negligence
Tort of Negligence Damage and Injury
In order for a claim of tortuous liability in negligence to be actionable, primarily, certain fundamental pre-requisites need to be established in each case respectively. The requirements of the modern tort of negligence were stated by Lord Wright in, Lochgelly and Coal Co ltd v McMullan, as being, i) the existence of a duty of care owed by the defendant to the claimant; ii) a breach of that duty; iii) damage or injury caused by that breach of duty. Each aforesaid area must be examined, and principally established in each separate claim against the defendant, for any proceedings against the defendant to be successful.
To start, the first task is to identify and define the range to whom a duty of care is owed. Negligence is essentially concerned with compensating people who have suffered damage as a result of the carelessness of others. If a duty of care cannot be established and shown to exist in each of the situations concerned, then the remaining elements of the tort of negligence need not be recognized.
Over the last century, the modern tort of negligence originated with the House of Lords decision in Donoghue v Stevenson. This case was a significant keystone in the tort of negligence. It is famed because of Lord Atkins ‘neighbour principle' in which he sets out the framework for determining the existence of a duty of care. To that end, negligence liability is thus based on a core test known as the ‘neighbour principal'.
In the years following Donoghue v Stevenson, the limits of negligence have continued to expand. Lord Wilberforce in Anns v Merton London Borough Council stated that the courts use a two stage test. First, the courts should establish whether the parties satisfied the neighbour test. Secondly,
the court should ask whether there were any policy considerations which dictated that no duty should exist. The problem with the Anns test is it seemed it could be applied with little regard for previous case law
In order for a claim of tortuous liability in negligence to be actionable, primarily, certain fundamental pre-requisites need to be established in each case respectively. The requirements of the modern tort of negligence were stated by Lord Wright in, Lochgelly and Coal Co ltd v McMullan, as being, i) the existence of a duty of care owed by the defendant to the claimant; ii) a breach of that duty; iii) damage or injury caused by that breach of duty. Each aforesaid area must be examined, and principally established in each separate claim against the defendant, for any proceedings against the defendant to be successful.
To start, the first task is to identify and define the range to whom a duty of care is owed. Negligence is essentially concerned with compensating people who have suffered damage as a result of the carelessness of others. If a duty of care cannot be established and shown to exist in each of the situations concerned, then the remaining elements of the tort of negligence need not be recognized.
Over the last century, the modern tort of negligence originated with the House of Lords decision in Donoghue v Stevenson. This case was a significant keystone in the tort of negligence. It is famed because of Lord Atkins ‘neighbour principle' in which he sets out the framework for determining the existence of a duty of care. To that end, negligence liability is thus based on a core test known as the ‘neighbour principal'.
In the years following Donoghue v Stevenson, the limits of negligence have continued to expand. Lord Wilberforce in Anns v Merton London Borough Council stated that the courts use a two stage test. First, the courts should establish whether the parties satisfied the neighbour test. Secondly,
the court should ask whether there were any policy considerations which dictated that no duty should exist. The problem with the Anns test is it seemed it could be applied with little regard for previous case law