Solicitors Sheffield

Negligence FAQs

How is negligence defined by the law?

Negligence, simply stated, occurs when a one person owes a duty of care to another person, that duty of care is breached and loss is suffered by the victim of the breach.

What is a duty of care?

A duty of care comes into existence where there is a “special relationship” between a persons or groups and one party to this relationship is under a duty to exercise reasonable care towards other parties such that harm is not caused.  A special relationship does not necessarily mean there is a close bond but it does means that the relationship is legally close enough (legally known as ‘proximity’) for a duty of care to be imposed.  For example, if I am standing on a train, I probably owe some legal duty to the people standing around me.  The nature of that duty depends on the circumstances, but probably requires me not to injure other passengers and vice versa.  However, between people in other carriages and me it is unlikely there is any duty for the duration of the journey although fleeting duties of care could come into existence when walking around the station.

What does “reasonableness” mean in negligence?

A duty to take “reasonable” care asks what the ‘reasonable man’ would have done in the circumstances.  Clearly this not set in stone, although precedents mean the courts do have some guidance as to how they apply the “reasonableness” concept.

In addition, the law requires that the act of negligence and harm done is sufficiently connected (legally known as causation) and asks whether it is reasonable and just to impose a duty of care in the circumstances.  Public policy issues often crop up with this requirement.  For instance, due to public policy reasons, the ambulance service is not under a duty to specific patients to answer call outs, but will come under a duty to a specific patient (s) where the call is accepted.  The courts argued that imposing a duty to answer calls would hinder the ambulance service’s performance.

Who owes a duty of care?

There are countless everyday situations where one person owes a duty of care to another.  When driving your car, performing your job or walking along the street it is likely that you owe a duty of care towards others you come into contact with.   There are countless professional situations where a duty of care is assumed to exist between some providing a service and the person receiving it (see professional negligence below).

What is professional negligence?

Professional negligence occurs between a professional (s) and the persons who receive their service.  Ordinary negligence principles still apply.  However, because of the nature of a client-service provider relationship, in most circumstances it is not difficult to show that some kind of special relationship and duty of care exists.  Standards of reasonableness in carrying out the duty of care are also referenced against the relevant profession rather than the population as a whole.