Tort Law Introduction - Key Cases

Tort law is about allocating costs when someone's negligence causes harm, such as a car crash.

Courts were reluctant to establish a general principle of care without a contract because they were wary of creating expansive liability and wanted to protect defendants.

Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)

<p>The neighbor principle focuses on foreseeability of harm and proximity between the parties involved.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Criminal Law</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Contractual Liability</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The two main theories are corrective justice and distributive justice.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The normative equilibrium refers to a state of balance where everyone is acting within reasonable expectations and no one is significantly harmed by the actions of others.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Prioritizing individual rights over collective well-being</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Rylands v Fletcher</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Examples include chemicals, radioactive substances, and animals.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Criminal Law Enforcement</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Examples include compulsory car insurance, business insurance, and house insurance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A no-fault scheme is a system where compensation is provided for accidental harm without requiring proof of negligence, typically funded through public funds or insurance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>They are treatment and rehabilitation, compensation for loss of earnings, lump-sum compensation, and support for surviving spouses and children.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>'One-factor economic factors' refers to a system where courts may decide on liability based solely on economic considerations, such as cost factors or the ability to pay.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A, an employee in B's factory, carelessly trips over C, a customer, causing C to fall and break his elbow. This raises the question of who should be legally responsible for the injury and how.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A person only owes a duty of care in a particular situation where harm has already occurred.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A person owes a primary duty to protect against potential harm and a secondary duty to compensate for harm.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Negligence refers to the failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonable person would exercise in a similar situation, resulting in harm to another individual.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The two central features are personal responsibility for harm caused by an individual's negligence, and the allocation of costs based on the existence or lack of negligence.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The general rule states that individuals are only held liable for harm caused by their actions if they failed to take reasonable care to avoid it.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The basic elements are: the existence of a duty of care, a breach of that duty, causation, and the presence or absence of any relevant legal defenses.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The neighbor principle states that individuals must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions that could reasonably injure those whom they can foresee being affected by their actions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A statutory duty of care is a legal obligation imposed by statute or legislation to exercise a specific level of care in a particular situation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Assumption of responsibility occurs when an individual voluntarily takes on a duty of care, willingly undertaking responsibility for protecting the interests of others.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Hedley Byrne &amp; Co. Ltd. v. Heller &amp; Partners Ltd. (1964)</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Home Office v. Dorset Yacht Co. Ltd. (1970)</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Anns v. Merton London Borough Council (1978)</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The 'Anns Test' requires 1) a sufficient relationship of proximity or neighborhood between the parties and 2) consideration of factors that may limit or reduce the scope of any imposed duty.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The 'Caparo Test' involves three elements: foreseeability of harm, a relationship of proximity between the parties, and whether it is fair, just, and reasonable to impose a duty of care on the defendant.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>These elements include considering the relationship between the parties, the foreseeability of harm, the proximity of the situation, and whether it is morally and legally just to place the burden of responsibility on the defendant.</p> Signup and view all the answers