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A-Level Law OCR Negligence: Easy Guide 2024

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Daniel Simms

10/07/2022

Law

Negligence Splurge

A-Level Law OCR Negligence: Easy Guide 2024

Overall Summary

Understanding remoteness of damage in contract law and causation is crucial for establishing negligence claims. This comprehensive guide covers legal causation, intervening acts, and remedies in negligence cases, essential for OCR A Level Law paper 1 topics.

Key points:

  • Damage must be reasonably foreseeable to be recoverable
  • Intervening acts (novus actus interveniens) may break causation chain
  • Damages aim to compensate, not punish
  • Two main defences: contributory negligence and consent
  • The egg-shell skull rule applies in negligence cases
...

10/07/2022

693

Legal causation: remoteness of damage
.
.
The final element required. establishing negligence is the extent of the
damage suffered by the cl

View

Loss and Remedies in Negligence Cases

This section of the OCR A Level Law syllabus covers the concepts of loss and remedies in negligence cases, which are crucial for understanding how damages are awarded.

Loss

For a successful negligence claim, the claimant must have suffered loss in the form of damage to property or personal injury. However, not all losses can be claimed - only those that pass the remoteness of damage test.

Remedies

The two main remedies in negligence cases are:

  1. Damages
  2. Injunctions

Definition: Damages are monetary compensation awarded to the claimant, while an injunction is a court order to stop someone from doing something.

Damages

The principle behind damages in negligence cases is compensatory, not punitive:

  • Damages should restore the claimant to their position before the loss
  • The law is concerned with compensating the claimant, not punishing the defendant
  • The claimant is not expected to profit from damages

Highlight: The claimant must follow the principle of mitigation of loss, which means taking reasonable steps to minimize their losses.

Types of damages:

  1. Special damages: Specific losses up to the date of trial e.g.,lossofearnings,hospitalfeese.g., loss of earnings, hospital fees
  2. General damages: Presumed to follow from the negligence e.g.,painandsuffering,futurelossofearningse.g., pain and suffering, future loss of earnings

Vocabulary: Quantum of damage refers to the amount of compensation to be awarded.

Methods of payment:

  • Lump sum
  • Periodic payments

Injunctions

Definition: An injunction is a court order to stop someone from doing a specific action.

Failure to comply with an injunction can result in contempt of court, with a maximum penalty of 2 years in prison.

Example: In Coventry v Lawrence, the court emphasized the need to balance the needs of both the claimant and the defendant when issuing injunctions.

Defenses in Negligence Cases

The OCR A Level Law specification includes two main defenses in negligence cases:

  1. Contributory Negligence
  2. Consent VolentinonfitinjuriaVolenti non fit injuria

Contributory Negligence

Definition: Contributory negligence is a partial defense where the defendant is still liable, but damages are reduced according to the claimant's contribution to their harm.

Key points:

  • Governed by the Law Reform ContributoryNegligenceContributory Negligence Act 1945
  • Both parties have an element of responsibility
  • The judge decides the amount of responsibility for each party
  • Damages are reduced by the percentage the claimant is responsible

Example: Common in road traffic accidents, such as a cyclist failing to wear a helmet.

Consent (Volenti non fit injuria)

Definition: Consent is a full defense where the defendant is not liable if the claimant willingly accepted the risk.

Example: The Sayers v Harlow Urban District case illustrates the application of this defense in negligence law.

Understanding these concepts is crucial for success in OCR A Level Law past papers and exams, as they form a significant part of the OCR A Level Law paper 1 topics.

Legal causation: remoteness of damage
.
.
The final element required. establishing negligence is the extent of the
damage suffered by the cl

View

Page 3: Defences in Negligence

The final section explores defences available in negligence cases, essential knowledge for OCR A Level Law specification 2024.

Definition: Two main defences exist in negligence:

  1. Contributory Negligence partialdefencepartial defence
  2. Consent volentinonfitinjuriacompletedefencevolenti non fit injuria - complete defence

Highlight: Under the Law Reform ContributoryNegligenceContributory Negligence Act 1945, damages can be reduced based on the claimant's contribution to their harm.

Example: Common in road traffic accidents, such as cyclists not wearing helmets.

Vocabulary: Volenti non fit injuria means "to a willing person, injury is not done" - a complete defence when the claimant consented to the risk.

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Law

693

10 Jul 2022

3 pages

A-Level Law OCR Negligence: Easy Guide 2024

Overall Summary

Understanding remoteness of damage in contract law and causation is crucial for establishing negligence claims. This comprehensive guide covers legal causation, intervening acts, and remedies in negligence cases, essential for OCR A Level Law paper 1 topics.... Show more

Legal causation: remoteness of damage
.
.
The final element required. establishing negligence is the extent of the
damage suffered by the cl

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Loss and Remedies in Negligence Cases

This section of the OCR A Level Law syllabus covers the concepts of loss and remedies in negligence cases, which are crucial for understanding how damages are awarded.

Loss

For a successful negligence claim, the claimant must have suffered loss in the form of damage to property or personal injury. However, not all losses can be claimed - only those that pass the remoteness of damage test.

Remedies

The two main remedies in negligence cases are:

  1. Damages
  2. Injunctions

Definition: Damages are monetary compensation awarded to the claimant, while an injunction is a court order to stop someone from doing something.

Damages

The principle behind damages in negligence cases is compensatory, not punitive:

  • Damages should restore the claimant to their position before the loss
  • The law is concerned with compensating the claimant, not punishing the defendant
  • The claimant is not expected to profit from damages

Highlight: The claimant must follow the principle of mitigation of loss, which means taking reasonable steps to minimize their losses.

Types of damages:

  1. Special damages: Specific losses up to the date of trial e.g.,lossofearnings,hospitalfeese.g., loss of earnings, hospital fees
  2. General damages: Presumed to follow from the negligence e.g.,painandsuffering,futurelossofearningse.g., pain and suffering, future loss of earnings

Vocabulary: Quantum of damage refers to the amount of compensation to be awarded.

Methods of payment:

  • Lump sum
  • Periodic payments

Injunctions

Definition: An injunction is a court order to stop someone from doing a specific action.

Failure to comply with an injunction can result in contempt of court, with a maximum penalty of 2 years in prison.

Example: In Coventry v Lawrence, the court emphasized the need to balance the needs of both the claimant and the defendant when issuing injunctions.

Defenses in Negligence Cases

The OCR A Level Law specification includes two main defenses in negligence cases:

  1. Contributory Negligence
  2. Consent VolentinonfitinjuriaVolenti non fit injuria

Contributory Negligence

Definition: Contributory negligence is a partial defense where the defendant is still liable, but damages are reduced according to the claimant's contribution to their harm.

Key points:

  • Governed by the Law Reform ContributoryNegligenceContributory Negligence Act 1945
  • Both parties have an element of responsibility
  • The judge decides the amount of responsibility for each party
  • Damages are reduced by the percentage the claimant is responsible

Example: Common in road traffic accidents, such as a cyclist failing to wear a helmet.

Consent (Volenti non fit injuria)

Definition: Consent is a full defense where the defendant is not liable if the claimant willingly accepted the risk.

Example: The Sayers v Harlow Urban District case illustrates the application of this defense in negligence law.

Understanding these concepts is crucial for success in OCR A Level Law past papers and exams, as they form a significant part of the OCR A Level Law paper 1 topics.

Legal causation: remoteness of damage
.
.
The final element required. establishing negligence is the extent of the
damage suffered by the cl

Sign up to see the contentIt's free!

Access to all documents

Improve your grades

Join milions of students

By signing up you accept Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Page 3: Defences in Negligence

The final section explores defences available in negligence cases, essential knowledge for OCR A Level Law specification 2024.

Definition: Two main defences exist in negligence:

  1. Contributory Negligence partialdefencepartial defence
  2. Consent volentinonfitinjuriacompletedefencevolenti non fit injuria - complete defence

Highlight: Under the Law Reform ContributoryNegligenceContributory Negligence Act 1945, damages can be reduced based on the claimant's contribution to their harm.

Example: Common in road traffic accidents, such as cyclists not wearing helmets.

Vocabulary: Volenti non fit injuria means "to a willing person, injury is not done" - a complete defence when the claimant consented to the risk.

Legal causation: remoteness of damage
.
.
The final element required. establishing negligence is the extent of the
damage suffered by the cl

Sign up to see the contentIt's free!

Access to all documents

Improve your grades

Join milions of students

By signing up you accept Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Legal Causation: Remoteness of Damage

Legal causation is the final element required to establish negligence. It determines the extent of damage attributable to the defendant. Key points include:

  • Damage must be reasonably foreseeable, not too remote
  • Defendant liable only for foreseeable consequences of duty breach
  • Type of damage must be reasonably foreseeable

Example: The Wagon Mound No1No 1 case established that if minor damage of a particular kind was foreseeable, the defendant would be liable.

Highlight: As long as the type of damage is foreseeable, unusual forms of that damage are still covered.

The Bradford v Robinson Rentals case illustrates this principle:

Example: An employee suffered frostbite while driving an old van in cold weather. The court ruled it was foreseeable that some cold-related injury could occur in those circumstances.

Intervening Acts

Intervening acts novusactusinterveniensnovus actus interveniens may break the chain of causation, potentially relieving the defendant of liability. These can include:

  • Third party actions
  • Claimant's own actions
  • Acts of nature

Definition: Novus actus interveniens refers to a new intervening act that breaks the chain of causation between the defendant's negligence and the resulting harm.

The key question is whether the resulting damage was a foreseeable consequence of the original act or the intervening act.

Example: In Hughes v Lord Advocate, workmen left a manhole covered by a tent with paraffin lamps. Boys entered and caused an explosion. The court ruled the type of injury was foreseeable, even if the specific explosion was not.

Example: Smith v Littlewoods involved vandals starting a fire in an empty cinema, damaging adjoining properties. The court considered this vandalism a novus actus interveniens.

"Egg-shell skull" rule

This rule states that liability is not lessened because the claimant had a pre-existing condition that worsened their injuries.

Example: In Smith v Leech Brain, a workman's slight burn from molten metal aggravated a pre-existing cancerous condition, leading to death. The court upheld the principle of "you take your victim as you find him."

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The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.

Stefan S

iOS user

This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.

Samantha Klich

Android user

Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.

Anna

iOS user

Best app on earth! no words because it’s too good

Thomas R

iOS user

Just amazing. Let's me revise 10x better, this app is a quick 10/10. I highly recommend it to anyone. I can watch and search for notes. I can save them in the subject folder. I can revise it any time when I come back. If you haven't tried this app, you're really missing out.

Basil

Android user

This app has made me feel so much more confident in my exam prep, not only through boosting my own self confidence through the features that allow you to connect with others and feel less alone, but also through the way the app itself is centred around making you feel better. It is easy to navigate, fun to use, and helpful to anyone struggling in absolutely any way.

David K

iOS user

The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!

Sudenaz Ocak

Android user

In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.

Greenlight Bonnie

Android user

very reliable app to help and grow your ideas of Maths, English and other related topics in your works. please use this app if your struggling in areas, this app is key for that. wish I'd of done a review before. and it's also free so don't worry about that.

Rohan U

Android user

I know a lot of apps use fake accounts to boost their reviews but this app deserves it all. Originally I was getting 4 in my English exams and this time I got a grade 7. I didn’t even know about this app three days until the exam and it has helped A LOT. Please actually trust me and use it as I’m sure you too will see developments.

Xander S

iOS user

THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮

Elisha

iOS user

This apps acc the goat. I find revision so boring but this app makes it so easy to organize it all and then you can ask the freeeee ai to test yourself so good and you can easily upload your own stuff. highly recommend as someone taking mocks now

Paul T

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