NEGLIGENCE - BREACH OF DUTY

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AMY KEMP              NEGLIGENCE – BREACH OF DUTY               04-02-04

Angela had recently been taken on as an adult volunteer helper with an outdoor activity centre. She was making her first trip with a group of 10-12 year old girls.  Beth, an experienced leader, asked Angela to supervise the children building a rope bridge across a river.  Angela had had no previous training or experience in making rope bridges, but she agreed to supervise on her own.  When Angela’s group of children started to cross the bridge that they had built, it collapsed, injuring Delia, aged 10.  Angela had told the children the bridge was safe to use.

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  1. Explaining the relevant rules of law, decide whether Beth owed a duty of care to Delia in this situation.

Lord Atkin originally determined how a duty of care could be identified in his ‘neighbour principle.’  In Donoghue V Stevenson [1932] he said, “You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour.”  

It was later established in Caparo V Dickman [1990], the test for duty of care must be answered in three stages.  The first of these is the same as the Neighbour ...

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