header-logo header-logo

Foreseeable danger?

23 February 2012 / Keith Patten
Issue: 7502 / Categories: Features , Professional negligence , Personal injury
printer mail-detail

Keith Patten applauds a holistic approach to negligence liability

It is traditional to regard the tort of negligence as being made up of a number of component parts, a decision procedure in relation to the elements which must be satisfied to establish liability. It is not, therefore, surprising that this “checklist” approach to negligence is often found in the decisions of the courts. But competing with it is a more holistic view of negligence law, which concentrates less on bolting together its individual parts and more on the aims and purposes which negligence law is seeking to achieve.

Both of these approaches can be seen to be at play in the recent Court of Appeal decision in Hadlow v Peterborough City Council [2011] EWCA Civ 1329, [2011] All ER (D) 193 (Oct) a case which can, according to taste, be viewed as a doctrinal decision on the sometimes obscure doctrine of remoteness, or as a decision based on a view of negligence law’s underlying purposes.

The facts

The facts are relatively straightforward.

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll