Negligence

negligence: Law relating to the duty of care

elements of negligence: duty of care, breach of a duty of care, causation, injury loss or damage

Duty of care - The plaintiff must first establish that the defendant owed them a duty of care.

Breach of a duty of care - Occurs when a person does not take all the care they should. The duty is breached when a person fails to do what a reasonable person would have done.

Causation - The harm was caused by a breach of a duty of care, and that the harm would not have occurred if the duty of care had not been breached.

Injury, loss or damage - A plaintiff can only seek a legal remedy through the law of negligence if it can be proved that they suffered injury, loss or damage, even if it is minor. The injury, loss or damage can be physical, or mental, or it can be damage to property.

defences to negligence: contributory negligence and assumption of risk

Impact on plaintiff: loss of life, serious physical injury, loss of wages, effect on mental health, unemployment, permanent physical incapacity

Impact on defendant: loss of business, public humiliation, costs, physical injury, needs to sell assets, and effect on mental health

possible remedies: compensatory damages, special damages, general damages, aggravated damages

compensatory damages - an amount of money awarded to a plaintiff for harm, injury, or other losses suffered. It includes general damages, special damages, and aggravated damages

special damages - are damages to compensate for loss that can be accurately measured in monetary terms, such as loss of wages and medical costs

general damages - are damages to compensate for loss that cannot be accurately measured in monetary terms, such as loss of enjoyment of life, and pain and suffering

aggravated damages - an amount of money that a defendant may be ordered to pay when a plaintiff has suffered extreme humiliation, embarrassment or insult because of the defendant’s conduct