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4 Law of tort (1 questions)
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The claimant must prove the following elements:
- Duty of care: The defendant must owe a legal duty to the claimant. This is usually established by the neighbour principle (Caparo v Dickman) which requires foreseeability, proximity and that it is just and reasonable to impose a duty.
- Breach of that duty: The defendant must have failed to meet the standard of care expected of a reasonable person in the same circumstances.
- Causation and damage: The breach must have caused the claimant’s loss, satisfying both factual causation (the “but for” test) and legal causation (remoteness – the loss must be a reasonably foreseeable consequence).
Exceptions include:
- Voluntary assumption of risk – where the claimant knowingly accepts the risk.
- Illegality – a claimant cannot recover if the claim arises from their own illegal act.
- Statutory duties – where a specific statute modifies or excludes the common‑law duty.