Duty Of Care

Front 1

What are the core elements of tort? (5)

Back 1

Act or omission

Which causes

Damage

To a protected interest of C

By the fault of D

Front 2

What does tort aim to do?

Back 2

Put the claimant back in the position they were in before the tort.

Front 3

What case shows that liability helps to deter and shape behaviour?

Back 3

Roe v Minister of Health.

Front 4

Why is balance needed in tort law?

Back 4

Balance is needed between upholding standards and opening floodgates.

Cannot sue everyone for far removed things.

Front 5

What case is an example of tort law going too far?

Back 5

McDonald's.

Front 6

What is essential in tort law?

Back 6

Damage.

The defendant can be as careless as they like without causing damage.

The damage must be actionable.

Front 7

What does Rothwell say about damage?

Back 7

Risk of future illness is not damage.

Front 8

What is duty of care?

Back 8

Legal duty to take care.

A relationship of legal and social significance.

Front 9

What was the original duty of care case?

Back 9

Donoghue v Stevenson.

Front 10

What was said in Donoghue v Stevenson?

Back 10

Must take reasonable care to avoid act or omissions that you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour.

Your neighbour is anyone who or to reasonably been in contemplation of being affected when acting or omitting to act.

Front 11

What two elements does the neighbour principle have?

Back 11

Proximity and foreseeability.

Front 12

When is the case of Caparo used?

Back 12

In cases where a duty of care is not established by an existing precedent.

Only used in novel cases.

Front 13

What is the tripartite test outlined in Caparo?

Back 13

Was harm to C foreseeable?

Was there a relationship of proximity between C and D?

Is it fair, just and reasonable to impose the duty of care on D (policy reasons).

Front 14

Is the test for foreseeability objective or subjective?

Back 14

Objective.

Front 15

What case shows an unforeseeable claimant so no duty of care?

Back 15

Bourhill.

Front 16

What is proximity?

Back 16

A relationship of legal significance.

Front 17

When is proximity easy to satisfy and when is it hard to satisfy?

Back 17

Easy with physical injury.

Hard with psychiatric harm.

Front 18

What case shows that must be fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty of care?

Back 18

Robinson.

Front 19

Which existing duties of care are referred to in Robinson? (4)

Back 19

Motorists to other road users.

Manufacturers to consumers.

Employers to employees.

Doctors to patients.

Front 20

What are the case shows a duty of care from employers to employees?

Back 20

Spring.

Front 21

Which case outlines that cases of direct physical harm have an established duty of care?

Back 21

Robinson.

Front 22

Which case shows that duty of care is owed from casualty departments to people who walk in?

Back 22

Barnett.

Front 23

What case shows that a duty of care is owed when assurance of help and a timeframe is given?

Back 23

Sherratt.

Front 24

What case shows the ambulance services are a duty of care as soon as they pick up the phone?

Back 24

Kent.

Front 25

What case shows that there is a duty of care not to cause direct damage to property?

Back 25

Spartan.

Front 26

How does the case of Littlewoods contrast Spartan?

Back 26

Littlewoods shows that no duty of care is owed by property damage is caused by a third party that he has no responsibility.

Front 27

What case shows that local authorities in education can owe a duty of care?

Back 27

Phelps.

Front 28

What place shows that local authorities in health services can owe a duty of care?

Back 28

Stovin.

Front 29

What else does the case of Stovin outline?

Back 29

Local authorities do not have a duty of care in road safety.

Front 30

When can local authorities have a duty of care in road safety and what case shows this?

Back 30

If a positive act is done rather than an omission.

Kane.

Front 31

What is the general rule for duty of care with omissions?

Back 31

Generally no duty of care.

Front 32

What case shows that there is generally no liability for pure omissions?

Back 32

Curran.

Front 33

When may an omission give rise to liability?

Back 33

When the omission is done during the course of a positive act.

Failing to stop at a red light is an omission during the course of a positive act of driving.

Front 34

What are the two general rules about nonfeasance?

Back 34

1. There is no duty to rescue.

2. There is no duty to prevent others from causing harm.

Front 35

When are there exceptions to the general rule that there is no duty to rescue?

Back 35

When it involves a parent and a child.

Front 36

For which group of people is there a general duty to prevent others from causing harm?

Back 36

Police.

Front 37

What are the four exceptions to the general rule that there is no duty to prevent others from causing harm?

Back 37

Special relationship between claimant and defendant.

Special relationship between the defendant and the third party.

Creating a source of danger sparked by the third party.

Failing to take steps to avoid danger created by a third party.

Front 38

What case outlines that there is no general duty to prevent others from causing harm?

Back 38

Littlewoods.

Front 39

What case shows a special relationship between claimant and defendant?

Back 39

Troman.

Decorator assumed responsibility for the property that he was in.

Front 40

What case shows that there is a special relationship between C and D but this is not enough to overcome the general rule that there is no duty to prevent others from causing harm?

Back 40

Michael.

Front 41

What case shows a special relationship between the defendant and the third party?

Back 41

Dorset yacht.

The police control the defendant's who escaped and caused damage.

Front 42

What case shows failing to take steps to avoid a danger created by a third party?

Back 42

Dudley MBC.

New the property was not secure a new about break ins.

Front 43

What case contradicts Dudley MBC?

Back 43

Mitchell.

No duty of care is owed by the housing authority to warn the tenant of threats from another tenant.

Front 44

What was outlined in the case of x v Bedfordshire?

Back 44

Owing a duty of care when investigating child abuse cases would prevent proper investigation because of fear of liability.

Front 45

What is the general rule regarding coast guards and duty of care?

Back 45

Generally no duty of care owed due to a policy reasons, them being a poorly paid citizen and there being no direct physical.

Front 46

What case outlines the fact that coastguards generally don't owe a duty of care?

Back 46

OLL.

Front 47

What is the general rule regarding the fire brigade and duty of care and why?

Back 47

Courts are reluctant to find a duty of care.

Making them liable for negligence during their practices would lead to defensive practices and take resources away from them.

Aso there is no proximity just a relation of general reliance.

Front 48

What is outlined in the case of Capital? (2)

Back 48

Fire brigade attending the scene does not create a duty.

There is no duty to turn up or to answer a call for help.

Front 49

What was the reasoning in Munroe explaining why the fire brigade attending a scene does not create a duty?

Back 49

Attending the scene had not caused damage or made things worse.

Front 50

In which case were the fire services liable and why?

Back 50

The decision to turn off the sprinkler system made the fire worse where is in Munroe attending the scene did not make things worse so there was no liability.

Front 51

What case shows that it does not matter if the call handler spoke to the victim or spoke to someone else?

Back 51

Sherratt.

Front 52

What case outlines that a hospital accepting a patient must take reasonable care of them?

Back 52

Barnett.

Front 53

What happened in the case of Barrett?

Back 53

Police officers assumed responsibility for a drunk officer by taking him to his bed.

Front 54

What does the case of Kent outline about ambulance services assuming responsibility?

Back 54

Answering the 999 call assumes responsibility especially when there is detrimental reliance.

Front 55

What case shows that reasonable care must be taken towards those who go to A&E?

Back 55

Darnley.

Front 56

What did the case of Hill outline for police liability?

Back 56

There is generally no negligence for police of pursuing their duties.

There is insufficient proximity, this would lead to defensive practices and it would be too expensive making the police less useful.

Front 57

What cases show the police owing a duty of care? (3)

Back 57

Rigby.

Mullaney.

Swinney.

Front 58

What happened in the case of Rigby?

Back 58

Police negligently caused the fire during their duties.

Front 59

What happens in Mullaney and Swinney where police assume a very specific responsibility to safeguard certain individuals?

Back 59

Mullaney: probationary Constable injured whilst attempting arrest.

Swinney: Duty owed to Informant who had received threats.

Front 60

What case outlines the high threshold for police liability?

Back 60

Osman.

Front 61

According to the case of Osman when would police be liable?

Back 61

When there is a real and immediate risk to life and the police failed to take measures within the scope of their powers.

Front 62

What case contrasts Swinney and how is this explained?

Back 62

Van Colle.

In Swinney the claimant is threatened by a violent suspect.

In Van Colle the climate is threatened by petty criminal and there is no explicit life threat.

Front 63

What happened in the case of Michael and what principles came out of this case?

Back 63

The police were not liable when the claimant was murdered by a person they have called to report threats from.

The police assured the claiming they would pass on my calls I did not give any assurance about when they would see her and if they would come to see her.

Police do not have the time and Resources to investigate everything and they don't know how severe each problem is.

Front 64

How could the many people who claim against police negligence get compensation?

Back 64

Through the Human Rights Act Article 2 instead.

Front 65

Which case outlines that there is no duty of care even if the police are aware of the threat?

Back 65

Michael.

Front 66

What does the case of Smith argue about the Hill principle?

Back 66

Judges argue that the Hill principle should not be abandoned even in extreme cases like this that will close to the Osman principles.

Front 67

What case contracts Michael and why?

Back 67

Sherratt.

There is a promise of a prompt visit and the detrimental reliance on this promise therefore there was a duty of care, unlike there being no time frame given in Michael.

Front 68

What case outlines that the police have a positive duty to investigate offences of a serious nature?

Back 68

DSD.

Front 69

What situation can the police owe duty of care?

Back 69

If there is assumption of responsibility and sufficient control over a third party.

Front 70

What case outlines that there must be outrageous negligence for the police duty of care?

Back 70

Rigby.

Front 71

What case shows how policy reasons affect police liability?

Back 71

Robinson.

Police owed a duty of care but policy considerations prevented their liability.

The decisions had to be made in circumstances with little time for thought.