Title: Wrongs and remedies in the twenty-first century /
Authors: Birks, Peter,; Society of Public Teachers of Law (London, England)
Date: 1996
Publisher: Clarendon Press ;
Physical description: xii, 333 pages ; 24 cm
Language: English
LC classification: K
Abstract: When potential litigants first approach a lawyer they are generally interested in finding out one thing only: are they likely to be able to win damages or any other kind of remedy and what kind of quantum of damages are they likely to receive? It becomes the lawyer's main task to try to argue for a remedy and to persuade the court that the plaintiff has a good cause of action. Textbooks about contract and tort frequently treat damages and other remedies as an after-thought when in fact it is the issue of remedies which is a constant and ever-present consideration for the plaintiff and his or her lawyer. This new book, containing contributions from many of the UK's leading specialists, brings to the fore a range of issues which are of topical interest to litigators and to teachers of law. In some instances the issues are currently the subject of reform proposals and these essays usefully highlight the principal issues facing the reformers and the objections which have been raised by those opposed to reform. In addition four of the essays tackle a strand of tort law which is of rapidly growing importance - the area of professional negligence. The contributors are among the best-known writers in this field and their essays combine practical and academic perspectives which usefully highlight contemporary trends in professional negligence litigation. The first chapter in the book also offers a unique and controversial overview of tort law in the UK by Professor Patrick Atiyah, who argues for a complete rethink of the system of personal injuries litigation in the UK, starting with its abolition. Not for the first time, Professor Atiyah thinks the unthinkable.
Contents: Personal injuries in the Twenty-first century: thinking the unthinkable / Patrick Atiyah -- Professional and client: the duty of care / John Powell -- Professional negligence in tort: the search for a theory / Keith Stanton -- The negligent professional: liability for a fair share / Tony Dugdale -- The fiduciary relationship and its application to doctors and patients / Ian Kennedy -- Professionals as competing monopolists / Joshua Getzler -- Reforming exemplary damages / Andrew Burrows -- Punitive damages -- Nicholas McBride -- Restitutionary damages / Harvey McGregor -- Exceptional measures of damages in contract / Hugh Beale -- Rethinking penalty clauses / Tony Downes -- Controlling the power to agree damages / Mindy Chen-Wishart -- Exceptional measures of damages: a search for principles / Peter Cane.
Notes: On title page: S.P.T.L.: The Society of Public Teachers of Law.
Subject headings (LCSH): Damages--Great Britain.; Negligence--Great Britain.; Remedies (Law)--Great Britain.; Torts--Great Britain.