Employers liability

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Naomi Gamble v Simon Shock

Claim: Negligence

Duty: Special relationship doesn’t have to be between spouses pr teacher and student. Stansbie v Troman sets out special relationship between contact partners. When a contract is being made , no matter if it is verbally or in writing, duty is owed. The special relationship needs to highlight a sufficient degree of proximity. In Stansbie v Troman the court found that the contractual relationship...was enough to create a degree of proximity necessary for the imposition of duty of care. Relying on Stansbie v Troman, duty of care is owed from Simon Shock to Naomi Gamble.

Breach: the standard owed should be of a professional electrician. If the standard falls below the criteria, breach has occurred. Nettleship v Weston sets up the standard. A driving instructor suffers damages, after a learner driver breaks too late and crashes. The Cour of Appeal held that the standard of care for a learner driver should be the same as for a professional driver. In this case it is stated that Simon Shock ‘made a number of errors while rewiring the house which a competent electrician would not have made’. Based on the fact, Simon Shock has fallen below the standard, therefore breached his duty.

Causation: Factual Causation: ‘but for the defendant’s breach would the claimant have suffered the damage?’ the answer is no! Because of Simon Shock’s breach of duty, Naomi Gamble has suffered severe burns to her face and hands. The ‘but for test’ was first applied in Barnet v Kensington & Chelsea Hospital. This test represents whether the defendant’s wrong in fact caused the claimant’s harm. Miss Gamble may rely on the ‘but for test’ to show that Shock’s negligence in fact caused the property damage and the burns she had suffered.

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Using the test from Wilsher v Essex AHA, where a junior doctor was not found liable for inserting an oxygen tube into a vein instead of an artery of a premature baby. The court held that there are many more causes for the baby to go blind, especially if born premature. On the balance of probabilities Miss Gamble would not have suffered the additional scaring if she had arrived at the hospital 20mins earlier. If the fire brigade had arrived earlier, the property would not have been destroyed.

It could be argued that both the electrician and the ambulance service ...

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