Source: https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/contract-law/exceptions-to-principles-of-negligence-contract-law-essay.php
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 22:47:24+00:00

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This paper details a proposal for an undergraduate dissertation to be written in the law of tort – specifically with regard to exceptions to the general law relating to the principles of negligence – with a view to producing what is considered to be a full and thorough discussion that is both analytical and evaluative in its remit. With this in mind, this study looks to focus in upon two specific decisions that recently arose in the form of the case of Fairchild v. Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd & Others  UKHL 22 and Chester v. Afshar  1 AC 134.
Compare & contrast the respective decisions in Fairchild v. Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd & Others  & Chester v. Afshar  to determine which of these exceptions is most valuable to the ongoing development of the law of negligence in the context of the recognition of the importance of the duty of care, causation and remoteness of damage in any given case as and where it arises.
The topic was chosen in view of the fact that every day in the UK there are instances of negligence perpetrated by both individuals and groups in both corporate and non-corporate environments against other individuals accidentally and/or on purpose and, as a result, cases of personal injury are never far from the public eye – both in the media and through advertising – with a view to raising awareness and bringing about the resolution of issues of concern. Therefore, due to the prominence of cases of negligence and personal injury within the English legal system this study will not only consider the more general nature and scope of the law but also, more specifically, the aforementioned decisions of Fairchild v. Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd and Others  & Chester v. Afshar.  The reason for this is that there is a need to recognise the exceptions that are understood as applying to the traditional rules of the law of negligence along with their value to the law’s development in this regard.
(a) What is the law of negligence?
(b) What is required for a claim of negligence?
(c) What are the general rules that have been recognised in this regard?
(d) What is within the remit of the duty of care in a given case of negligence?
(e) What is within the remit of causation and remoteness in a given case of negligence?
(f) Which of the exceptions in the decisions in Fairchild v. Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd & Others  and Chester v. Afshar  are considered to be most valuable for the ongoing development of the law of negligence?
(g) What was decided in the case of Fairchild v. Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd & Others  and why did that proved to be the case?
(h) What was decided in the case of Chester v. Afshar  and why did that proved to be the case?
The issue of ‘causation’ generally relates to the ‘causal relationship between conduct and result’ so as to serve to connect the conduct of an individual with the resulting harm  in a concerted effort to produce results generally considered both just and fair in their nature reflected in the section in the law of negligence by following the stages necessary to show such an offence  . However, whilst a ‘chain of causation’ will not be found to be present in all cases, the court may still look to hold the defendant out to be liable for the plaintiff’s ‘injuries’. Moreover, in Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories  it was recognised that where the plaintiff consumed medication that made them ill because of negligence during its manufacture, the actual manufacturer could not be ascertained for certain because more than one company had made it so that liability was difficult to qualify and quantify. Therefore, the defendants were to be held liable proportionately to their market shares for the amount of risk it contributed to the occasioning of harm since the party that caused the ‘injury’ could not be ascertained for certain.
Specifically, in the context of the more general discussion of the law of negligence that will have been initially undertaken, there is a need to evaluate the two decisions that have already been recognised as being central to this study. This effectively means recognising which of the aforementioned two decisions is most valuable for the ongoing development of the law of negligence pertaining to personal injury. Therefore, the case of Fairchild v. Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd & Others  served to be representative of a significant development in relation to the test for causation in cases of negligence for personal injury. The employee in this case had looked to work for two separate companies for a number of years but it was not possible to say when working for which company the employee contracted mesothelioma that is fatal once it has been contracted but not actually made any the worse with more exposure to the same conditions. As a result, both of the companies the employee in this case was working for at this time looked to contest the claim on the basis that there was not enough evidence to show that there was causation to be proved against either of the two employers in the circumstances. With this in mind, the House of Lords held in this case this meant that there was a recognised statutory duty with a view to then providing for the protection of employees. Then, in the event that it is possible that more than one person could be deemed responsible for the death of the employee but it is not possible to say which of them was actually responsible, then it is to be appreciated that public policy could serve to dictate the standard causation rules must be varied to account for this. On this basis, the House of Lords deemed that in the circumstances of this case there was a need to look to make both companies liable for the risk of harm they had run leading to the employee’s ‘injury’ without having to resort to the rule in McGhee v. National Coal Board  that causation had been proved. However, whilst the whole of the House of Lords sitting in this case arrived at the same result, each of their Lordships formulated the replies that they gave in somewhat differing manners. By way of illustration, in presiding in this case Lord Bingham for one served to establish six conditions that all had to be fulfilled before the exception that came to be recognised in this case could apply. Therefore, in holding that the negligent defendant companies in this case should be held liable even without proof of causation, Lord Bingham determined that the injustice involved with imposing liability on a ‘duty-breaking employer’ is heavily outweighed by the denial of the victim’s redress.
"Exceptions to principles of negligence." LawTeacher.net. 11 2013. All Answers Ltd. 04 2019 <https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/contract-law/exceptions-to-principles-of-negligence-contract-law-essay.php?vref=1>.
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LawTeacher. November 2013. Exceptions to principles of negligence. [online]. Available from: https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/contract-law/exceptions-to-principles-of-negligence-contract-law-essay.php?vref=1 [Accessed 20 April 2019].
LawTeacher. Exceptions to principles of negligence [Internet]. November 2013. [Accessed 20 April 2019]; Available from: https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/contract-law/exceptions-to-principles-of-negligence-contract-law-essay.php?vref=1.

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