Tort
Law Negligence
The tort of negligence represents, by far the most significant tort. Although, legally speaking, a late developer, negligence has in a space of about seventy years almost developed a stranglehold on the law of civil obligations.
Before discussing each of the elements of tort negligence, it should be clear as to exactly what is meant by the term. Certainly the legal meaning of ‘negligence’ is clearly distinguishable from what a layperson might refer to as mere carelessness or recklessness.
Tort
Law Negligence
Negligence is the breach of a legal duty to take care which results in damage, undesired by the defendant, to the claimant.
The tort of negligence comprises a number of required elements; the existence of a duty of care owed by the defendant to the claimant and, breach of that duty by the defendant and, that the claimant suffered some damage and, whether the breach caused the damage and, whether the damage suffered was reasonably foreseeable.
A defendant cannot be liable for carelessness unless the law requires him to be careful in the first place. The courts reflect this by using the concept of ‘a duty of care’. In practice, common sense and logic will often point to the existence of a duty. This is the case in the vast majority of claims. However, in new or complex situations, it may be necessary to explore whether a duty can be imposed in law.