Negligence is a tort — an act or omission that causes harm and leads to legal liability. It’s outside of a contract/agreement, because one is legally responsible for another, and is thus a civil wrong — a breach of duty by one to another.
Duty of care (neighbour principle) — no suffering any unreasonable harm or loss.
- Foreseeable harm
- Relationship proximity
- Fairness of liability for carelessness
The neighbour principle of love thy neighbour becomes, in law, do not injure a neighbour.
Neighbour: people closely and directly affected by my act,
whom I should have in mind
in my acts or omissions.
Standard of care is what a reasonable person would have done in the same circumstances, at equivalent skill and knowledge level.
[Personal detour, feel free to ignore: So dammit when the Doctor kept trying to save Clara because he had a duty of care and she got angry because she never asked for it… the Doctor did have a duty of care.]
Causation / “but for” test — damage would not have occurred, but for your negligence.
Defence:
- Contributory negligence
- Claimant was also negligent and caused own harm
- damages reduced accordingly
- Volenti Non Fit Injuria
- “to the willing, no injury is done”, Latin
- willingly and knowingly = no claim
- Illegality
- extinguishes or reduces liability
Damages are compensated based on which idiot’s party’s at fault.
[Another personal detour: But Clara made her choice dammit!! He didn’t have to… but he loved her, as the Doctor does… it was volenti non fit injuria when she jumped into the timestream.]
Two examples:
- Professional Negligence (noun): breach of fiduciary duty and Duty of Care
- [fiduciary: in good faith for another]
- Negligent Misrepresentation (adjective): giving the wrong factual information carelessly.
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