Torts 10
Torts 10 : Negligence: Negligence is a tort which arises from the breach of the duty of care owed by one person to another from the perspective of a reasonable person. Although credited as appearing in the United States in Brown v. Kendall, the later English case of Donoghue v Stevenson brought England into line with the United States and established the 'tort of negligence' as opposed to negligence as a component in specific actions. In Donoghue, Mrs. Donoghue drank from an opaque bottle containing a decomposed snail and claimed that it had made her ill. She could not sue Mr. Stevenson for damages for breach of contract and instead sued for negligence. The majority determined that the definition of negligence can be divided into four component parts that the plaintiff must prove to establish negligence. The elements in determining the liability for negligence are: The plaintiff was owed a duty of care through a special relationship (e. g. doctor-patient) or some other principle. There was a dereliction or breach of that duty. The tortfeasor directly caused the injury[but for the defendant's actions, the plaintiff would not have suffered an injury]. The plaintiff suffered damage as a result of that breach. The damage was not too remote; there was proximate cause to show the breach caused the damage. In certain cases, negligence can be assumed under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (Latin for "the thing itself speaks"); particularly in the United States, a related concept is negligence per se
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