Gross Negligence Manslaughter

What is Gross Negligence Manslaughter?

D owes a duty of care to V, breaches this study, causing V’s death and amounted to “gross negligence”

Donoghue v Stevenson

Duty of care established and recognised in numerous relationships

If person in duty of care commits a negligent act or omission, they may be liable

Blyth v Birmingham Waterworks

Standard of Care of a Reasonable Person

Nettleship v Weston

Standard of Care of a Reasonable Learner

Bolam v Friern Hospital Management

Standard of Care of a Reasonable Expert

Mullins v Richards

Standard of Care of a Reasonable Child

R v HM Coroner for Inner London, ex parte Douglas-Williams

Negligence must have caused the death in the sense that it is more than minimally, negligibly or trivially contributed to the death

(Must be casual link between breach and death)

R v Pagett

“But For” Test

R v Smith

D made a “significant contribution” / more than a “minimal” cause to the outcome

R v Blaue

Thin Skull Rule

R v Cheshire/Jordan

Acts of 3rd party

R v Roberts/Williams

Victim’s own act

R v Andrews

Breach must be “a very high degree of negligence”

R v Bateman

Negligence must be “beyond a matter of mere compensation and shows disregard for life and safety of others”

R v Misra & Srivastrava

It’s required that the circumstances were so reprehensible as to amount to gross negligence