Global Information Lookup Global Information

Duty of care in English law information


In English tort law, an individual may owe a duty of care to another, in order to ensure that they do not suffer any unreasonable harm or loss. If such a duty is found to be breached, a legal liability will be imposed upon the tortfeasor to compensate the victim for any losses they incur. The idea of individuals owing strangers a duty of care – where beforehand such duties were only found from contractual arrangements – developed at common law, throughout the 20th century. The doctrine was significantly developed in the case of Donoghue v Stevenson,[1] where a woman succeeded in establishing a manufacturer of ginger beer owed her a duty of care, where it had been negligently produced. Following this, the duty concept has expanded into a coherent judicial test, which must be satisfied in order to claim in negligence.

Generally, a duty of care arises where one individual or group undertakes an activity which could reasonably harm another (or themselves), either physically, mentally, or economically. This includes common activities such as driving (where physical injury may occur), as well as specialised activities such as dispensing reliant economic advice (where economic loss may occur). Where an individual has not created a situation which may cause harm, no duty of care exists to warn others of dangerous situations or prevent harm occurring to them; such acts are known as pure omissions, and liability may only arise where a prior special relationship exists to necessitate them.

  1. ^ Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) AC 562

and 28 Related for: Duty of care in English law information

Request time (Page generated in 1.1815 seconds.)

Duty of care in English law

Last Update:

In English tort law, an individual may owe a duty of care to another, in order to ensure that they do not suffer any unreasonable harm or loss. If such...

Word Count : 3718

Duty of care

Last Update:

In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care to avoid careless...

Word Count : 3828

Breach of duty in English law

Last Update:

In English tort law, there can be no liability in negligence unless the claimant establishes both that they were owed a duty of care by the defendant,...

Word Count : 1754

Causation in English law

Last Update:

Causation in English law concerns the legal tests of remoteness, causation and foreseeability in the tort of negligence. It is also relevant for English criminal...

Word Count : 2801

Murphy v Brentwood DC

Last Update:

decision Anns v Merton London Borough Council with respect to a duty of care in English law. A builder failed to build proper foundations to a house. The...

Word Count : 462

Professional negligence in English law

Last Update:

establishing that a duty of care is owed by the defendant to the claimant, and that the defendant is in breach of that duty. The standard test of breach is whether...

Word Count : 4195

Remoteness in English law

Last Update:

issues in establishing that there was a duty of care and that that duty was breached, remoteness is designed as a further limit on a cause of action to...

Word Count : 1874

Good Samaritan law

Last Update:

mistake in treatment. By contrast, a duty to rescue law requires people to offer assistance and holds those who fail to do so liable. Good Samaritan laws may...

Word Count : 4590

English tort law

Last Update:

Donoghue v Stevenson. For liability under negligence, a duty of care must be established owed to a group of persons to which the victim belongs, a nebulous concept...

Word Count : 6971

Standard of care

Last Update:

In tort law, the standard of care is the only degree of prudence and caution required of an individual who is under a duty of care. The requirements of...

Word Count : 2331

Fiduciary

Last Update:

different, stricter standard of behavior than the comparable tortious duty of care in common law. The fiduciary has a duty not to be in a situation where personal...

Word Count : 7146

Nettleship v Weston

Last Update:

be able to recover half of his damages due to contributory negligence. Duty of care in English law Breach of duty in English law Wilsher v Essex Area Health...

Word Count : 407

Nervous shock

Last Update:

In English law, a nervous shock is a psychiatric / mental illness or injury inflicted upon a person by intentional or negligent actions or omissions of...

Word Count : 1424

Kent v Griffiths

Last Update:

[2000] 2 All ER 474 is an English tort law case from the Court of Appeal concerning negligence, particularly the duty of care owed by the emergency services;...

Word Count : 753

Duty to rescue

Last Update:

A duty to rescue is a concept in tort law and criminal law that arises in a number of cases, describing a circumstance in which a party can be held liable...

Word Count : 4692

Manslaughter in English law

Last Update:

This form of manslaughter is also termed "unlawful act" or "constructive" manslaughter. Under English law, where a person owes a duty of care (either by...

Word Count : 4855

English defamation law

Last Update:

Modern libel and slander laws in many countries are originally descended from English defamation law. The history of defamation law in England is somewhat...

Word Count : 8580

Trespass in English law

Last Update:

Trespass in English law is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to goods, and trespass to land. Trespass...

Word Count : 3203

Negligence

Last Update:

that breaches of a prescribed duty of care. The core concept of negligence is that people have an obligation to exercise reasonable care in their conduct...

Word Count : 5484

Loss of chance in English law

Last Update:

where the defendant's breach of contract or of the duty of care for the purposes of negligence deprived the claimant of the opportunity to obtain a benefit...

Word Count : 3169

Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police

Last Update:

v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2018] UKSC 4 is a leading English tort law case on the test for finding a duty of care. An elderly woman was...

Word Count : 2333

Care

Last Update:

Care, figure in ancient Roman Fabulae of Hyginus Duty of care, a legal obligation in tort law Ethics of care, a normative ethical theory Theology of relational...

Word Count : 572

Omissions in English criminal law

Last Update:

The omissions of individuals are generally not criminalised in English criminal law, save in many instances of a taking on of a duty of care, having contractual...

Word Count : 1908

Donoghue v Stevenson

Last Update:

decision in Scots delict law and English tort law by the House of Lords. It laid the foundation of the modern law of negligence in common law jurisdictions...

Word Count : 7759

Homicide in English law

Last Update:

may be caused by gross negligence, where the defendant has broken a duty of care over the victim, where that breach has led to the death, and is sufficiently...

Word Count : 5083

Administrative liability in English law

Last Update:

Wilkinson in X v Bedfordshire County Council [1995] 3 All ER 353 (HL). 1. Breach of a statutory duty 2. An action for breach of a common law duty of care 3....

Word Count : 1119

Delict

Last Update:

breach of trust. Liability is imposed on the basis of moral responsibility, i.e. a duty of care or to act, and fault (culpa) is the main element of liability...

Word Count : 1354

Tort

Last Update:

independent of precedent. In English tort law, Caparo Industries plc v Dickman established a tripartite test for the existence of a duty of care per which...

Word Count : 21988

PDF Search Engine © AllGlobal.net