Tort Law and Negligence Flashcards

What is the 'neighbour principle' articulated in Donoghue v Stevenson, and how does it underpin professional engineering liability in Canada?

Answer: The principle that you must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour — applied broadly to create duties of care beyond contractual relationships

Lord Atkin's neighbour principle creates a duty of care to persons who are so closely and directly affected by your acts that you ought reasonably to have them in contemplation. This is the foundation for professional engineers owing duties to end users and the public beyond their immediate clients.

A consulting engineer provides a negligent site investigation report. The general contractor relies on the report in bidding and suffers financial loss. The engineer has no contract with the general contractor. Which legal framework governs the engineer's potential duty of care to the contractor?

Answer: The Anns/Cooper test for novel duty of care, including proximity and policy considerations

Where there is no contract, the engineer's duty to a third party (the general contractor) must be established in tort using the Anns/Cooper test — particularly whether the proximity between engineer and contractor is sufficient to create a duty and whether policy considerations militate against it.

In Canadian tort law, what is the difference between a 'tortfeasor' and a 'concurrent tortfeasor'?

Answer: Both caused the same harm independently of each other; they are concurrent tortfeasors — each liable for the full harm

Concurrent tortfeasors independently cause the same harm through separate acts or omissions. Each concurrent tortfeasor is fully liable for the entire damage, with rights of contribution between them.

Under Canadian law, which head of damages compensates a plaintiff for the pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of amenities resulting from a physical injury?

Answer: General damages for non-pecuniary loss

General damages for non-pecuniary loss compensate for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of amenities — subjective losses that do not have a precise monetary value. The Supreme Court of Canada has capped these damages in personal injury cases.

What is the significance of an engineer's professional opinion being described as 'hedged' or 'qualified' in a report, in the context of a subsequent negligence claim?

Answer: Appropriate qualification of an opinion (noting limitations, assumptions, and the scope of investigation) can limit the engineer's liability for matters outside those qualifications

Professional engineering opinions that appropriately disclose their assumptions, limitations, and scope of investigation can limit the engineer's liability to matters within those qualifications — provided the qualifications are clear and are brought to the reader's attention.

Under the Canadian law of torts, which remedy is specifically designed to prevent future wrongful conduct rather than to compensate for past harm?

Answer: Injunction

An injunction is an equitable court order directing a party to do or refrain from doing a specific act. It is prospective — designed to prevent future harm — rather than compensatory. It may be interlocutory (temporary) or permanent.