BTC1110 : Law of Torts Notes.docx
9 Jul 2013
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The law of torts protects the general rights enjoyed by all individuals that are derived not from any specific agreement, but the law itself. Any action for negligence is about careless behaviour. Action for negligence will only succeed if plaintiff can prove that: Defendant"s breach was the cause of the plaintiff"s loss (causation) When a duty of care will arise is determined by the neighbour principle" from donoghue v stevenson": You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour. ". The nature of one"s duty of care is considered under the following headings: Physical harm: existence of duty of care depends on whether the harm suffered by the plaintiff was reasonably foreseeable. Liability for omissions: plaintiff"s harm is brought about by the defendant"s failure to act, not by positive. The courts are less willing to impose liability for a failure to act.
