C P Cavendish Publishing Limited London • Sydney Titles in the series: Company Law Constitutional Law Contract Law Criminal Law Employment Law English Legal System European Community Law Evidence Family Law GCSE Law Jurisprudence Land Law Medical Law Succession Tort Law Trusts Richard Owen, LLB, LLM, Solicitor Principal Lecturer, Associate Head (Academic Affairs) University of Glamorgan Law School C P Cavendish Publishing Limited London • Sydney Third edition first published in Great Britain 2000 by Cavendish Publishing Limited,The Glass House, Wharton Street, London WC1X 9PX, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7278 8000 Facsimile: +44 (0) 20 7278 8080 E-mail: [email protected] Visit our Home Page on http://www.cavendishpublishing.com © Owen, R 2000 First edition 1994 Second edition 1997 Third edition 2000 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE, UK, without the permission in writing of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Owen, Richard Essential tort law – 3rd ed 1 Torts – England 2 Torts – Wales I Title 346.4'2'03 ISBN 1 85941 592 X Printed and bound in Great Britain Foreword This book is part of the Cavendish Essential series. The books in the series are designed to provide useful revision aids for the hard-pressed student. They are not, of course, intended to be substitutes for more detailed treatises. Other textbooks in the Cavendish portfolio must supply these gaps. Each book in the series follows a uniform format of a checklist of the areas covered in each chapter, followed by expanded treatment of ‘Essential’ issues looking at examination topics in depth. The team of authors bring a wealth of lecturing and examining experience to the task in hand. Many of us can even recall what it was like to face law examinations! Professor Nicholas Bourne AM General Editor, Essential Series Conservative Member for Mid and West Wales v Contents Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v 1 Negligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Duty of care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Particular aspects of the duty of care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Breach of duty: standard of care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Causation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Remoteness of damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 2 Occupiers’Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Liability under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Occupiers’ liability to trespassers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 3 Employers’Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Personal non-delegable duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Breach of statutory duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Vicarious liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Liability for independent contractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 4 Breach of Statutory Duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Original principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Statutory remedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 Common law remedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Elements of the tort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Defences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 Proposals for reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 5 Intentional Interference with the Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 Intentional interference with the person – trespass . . . . . . . . . . . .81 Intentional physical harm other than trespass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94 6 Torts Relating to Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 Private nuisance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98 Public nuisance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109 The rule in Rylands v Fletcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111 Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118 Trespass to land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 vii ESSENTIALTORTLAW 7 Defamation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127 The difference between libel and slander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128 Essentials of defamation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 Defences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140 Fast track procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154 8 General Defences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155 Contributory negligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155 Consent/volenti non fit injuria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159 Illegal acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161 Mistake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163 Inevitable accident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163 Statutory authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163 Limitation of actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163 9 Remedies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167 Aims of compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167 Single action and lump sum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168 Types of damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170 New methods of paying damages in personal injury cases . . . .177 Death in relation to tort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187 viii 1 Negligence You should be familiar with the following areas: Duty of care • development of a test for ascertaining the existence of a duty: ‘duty situations’; ‘two stage’ test; and ‘three stage’ test • policy considerations • physical injury • rescuers • liability for omissions • nervous shock or psychiatric illness • economic loss • negligent mis-statements • other special relationships • liability for defective products/buildings • exercise of statutory powers Breach of duty: standard of care • standard of care • guidelines for assessing standard of care • standard for skilled defendants • standard for children/insane/physically ill • proof of breach: Civil Evidence Act 1968; res ipsa loquitur Causation • ‘but for’ test • successive causes • multiple causes • novus actus interveniens Remoteness of damage • Re Polemis • Wagon Mound • ‘thin skull’ rule 1