LAW 122 Chapter 6: Negligence Basics + Case Example
16 Dec 2015
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Three elements of negligence: the presence of duty of care, breached standard of care, causation of loss or harm. Three defences against negligence: contributory negligence, voluntary assumption of risk, illegality. Duty of care: exists if the defendant is required to use reasonable care to avoid injuring the plaintiff. This is determined by the reasonable person test: Breach of the standard of care defendant"s personality or person characteristics: the reasonable person is objective, it does not make allowances for the, the reasonable person takes precaution against reasonably foreseeable risks. Something may be reasonable even if its not likely to happen. However, there is no need take precautions against unforeseeable risks. The reasonable person does not guard against every conceivable danger: the reasonable person is influenced by both the likelihood of harm and potential severity of harm. Greater care is required if the chance of injury is 90% rather than 10%.
