Tort Coursework Cases -traffic accident and medical cases

Tort Coursework Cases -traffic accident and medical cases

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To bring a claim for negligence in tort a claimant must prove that a.) the defendant owed them a duty of care, b.) the defendant did not meet the standard of care required, c.) the breach of duty by the defendant caused the harm suffered by the claimant and d.) the loss was not too remote.

If one of these elements fails then there can be no claim. Andrea v Bernice A road user owes other road users a duty of care[1]; other road users include pedestrians, motorists and cyclists. A duty is breached when the required standard is not met; in this case the standard is that of a competent driver[2].

Bernice would not be able to use the case of Quinn v Scott [1965] [3] which held that speeding is not necessarily negligent; however, this judgement was made before the introduction of speed limits and so Bernice breached the standard by travelling

above the speed limit thereby hindering her ability to stop before hitting Andrea. To establish causation we must look at the facts more closely. To determine whether the defendant caused the harm the ?but for? test[4] must be applied. ……….

In contrast in Hughes[9] it was held that if the injury or damage is of a type that could be foreseen, even if it happened in an unexpected way or was more severe than expected

then it is established that the damage is not too remote. It is reasonably foreseeable that if a motorist collides with a cyclist at speed, the cyclist will suffer some form of injury.

Andrea v Dr Coles A duty of care is owed by a doctor to their patients[10]. A doctor is in breach of their duty if they do not meet the standard of a competent and reasonable doctor[11]. To determine whether or not a doctor has met the standard we must apply the Bolam Test[12].

The Bolam principle states that ?a doctor is not guilty of negligence if he acts i…………………………………