Evaluating negligence and occupiers' liability

Overview

Recall questions on the compensation culture and floodgates concerns, the but for test, remoteness and the objective standard of breach, Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, and whether occupiers' liability to trespassers strikes a fair balance.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is a key criticism of negligence relating to 'compensation culture'?

   Model answer

   That fear of being sued encourages defensive practices and drives up insurance costs, though studies suggest the scale of a genuine compensation culture is often exaggerated; the Compensation Act 2006 responded to these concerns.

2. 2

   Why can the 'but for' test be seen as harsh or limiting?

   Model answer

   Because a clearly negligent defendant can escape liability where the claimant would have suffered the harm anyway, as in Barnett, which some see as unjust to victims.

3. 3

   How does the remoteness rule balance interests in negligence?

   Model answer

   By limiting liability to reasonably foreseeable types of harm (The Wagon Mound), it protects defendants from unlimited liability but can leave some genuinely caused losses uncompensated.

4. 4

   What 'floodgates' concern arises in negligence?

   Model answer

   That recognising duties too widely — especially for economic loss or psychiatric harm — could open the floodgates to large numbers of claims, which is why courts restrict these categories.

5. 5

   How does Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire improve the law on duty of care?

   Model answer

   By confirming that established precedent governs recognised situations, it makes duty decisions more certain and predictable, reserving the flexible Caparo approach for novel cases.

6. 6

   What is a strength of the objective standard of breach?

   Model answer

   It provides consistency and certainty by judging everyone against the same reasonable person standard, though it can be criticised for treating learners and experts alike as if fully competent.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.