9084 · 4.1.1
Nature of liability in negligence flashcards
Revision flashcards for Cambridge 9084 Nature of liability in negligence (syllabus 4.1.1). Flip, recall, then mark a real past-paper question.
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What is negligence in tort?
A civil wrong where D owes a duty of care, breaches it, and causes foreseeable damage to C — fault-based liability.
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Three elements of negligence?
Duty of care → breach of duty → causation (factual and legal) and damage.
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Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] significance?
Established modern negligence; Lord Atkin's neighbour principle — take reasonable care not to injure those you ought to foresee would be affected.
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Civil vs criminal negligence?
Civil — private claim, balance of probabilities, compensatory damages. Criminal — state prosecution, beyond reasonable doubt, punishment.
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Purpose of tort damages?
Compensation (restitutio in integrum) — put claimant in position they would have been in but for the tort.
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Why is negligence the dominant tort?
Covers everyday accidents (roads, workplaces, products) where D failed to meet reasonable standard of care.
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What is the 'fault principle' in the law of negligence?
The principle that liability is based on the defendant being 'at fault' or blameworthy. This is established by proving their conduct fell below the objective standard of care of a 'reasonable person'.
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What is the primary purpose of the law of tort?
To provide compensation for a civil wrong, usually in the form of damages. Its aim is to restore the claimant, as far as money can, to the position they were in before the tort was committed.
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What is the 'neighbour principle' from *Donoghue v Stevenson*?
Lord Atkin's principle that you owe a duty of care to your 'neighbours' - persons who are so closely and directly affected by your act that you ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being so affected.
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What are the three essential elements a claimant must prove to succeed in a negligence claim?
1. A duty of care was owed by the defendant. 2. The defendant breached that duty of care. 3. The breach caused damage to the claimant which was not too remote.
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What are the three stages of the modern test for a duty of care from *Caparo v Dickman*?
1. Reasonable foreseeability of harm. 2. A relationship of proximity. 3. That it is fair, just, and reasonable to impose a duty.
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What is the principle of 'restitutio in integrum'?
A Latin phrase meaning 'restoration to the original condition'. It is the principle that the purpose of damages in tort is to put the claimant in the position they would have been in if the tort had not occurred.
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Distinguish between special and general damages.
Special damages are for quantifiable financial losses up to trial (e.g., lost earnings, medical bills). General damages are for non-quantifiable losses (e.g., pain and suffering, future loss of earnings).
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What is the objective standard of care in negligence?
The standard of the 'reasonable person'. The law does not judge a defendant by their own personal standards, but by what a hypothetical, ordinary, prudent person would have done in the same circumstances.