Tort Law Basics Flashcards

What is the 'Caparo test' for establishing a duty of care?

Answer: Foreseeability of damage, proximity between the parties, and it being fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty

The three-stage Caparo test (Caparo Industries v Dickman [1990]) requires: (1) the damage was foreseeable, (2) there was a relationship of proximity between the parties, and (3) it is fair, just, and reasonable to impose a duty.

What defence applies where the claimant expressly or impliedly agreed to the risk of injury?

Answer: Volenti non fit injuria

Volenti non fit injuria is the complete defence of voluntary assumption of risk. It requires the claimant to have had full knowledge of the risk and freely consented to accepting it, removing the defendant's liability entirely.

What is the defence of 'ex turpi causa'?

Answer: A defendant is not liable to a claimant who was engaged in illegal activity at the time of the tort

Ex turpi causa non oritur actio ('no action arises from a base cause') means a court will not assist a claimant who was engaged in serious illegality at the time they suffered harm (Pitts v Hunt [1991]).

What is 'nervous shock' caused by negligence of an employer called in tort law?

Answer: Workplace stress giving rise to a duty of care under Hatton v Sutherland guidelines

Employer liability for psychiatric harm (stress at work) was addressed in Hatton v Sutherland [2002], where the Court of Appeal set guidelines requiring the injury to be foreseeable given the particular employee's vulnerability and the employer's knowledge.

What is the significance of the case Paris v Stepney Borough Council [1951] for the standard of care?

Answer: Where the potential harm is particularly severe (here, total blindness), a higher standard of care is required

In Paris v Stepney Borough Council, the House of Lords held that the greater the potential harm (the employee had one eye, so negligence could cause total blindness), the greater the precautions required, influencing the standard of care.

What is 'aggravated damages' in tort?

Answer: Enhanced compensatory damages awarded where the defendant's conduct was particularly high-handed or humiliating

Aggravated damages are an increased compensatory award reflecting the additional injury to the claimant's dignity, feelings, or pride caused by the defendant's particularly high-handed, malicious, or oppressive conduct.