History of Duty of Care

Liability in Negligence for Physical Injury and Damage to Property

In this course, Dr Craig Purshouse (University of Liverpool) explores tort liability in negligence for physical injury and damage to property. In the first module we look into the history of the approach to duty of care for physical injury and damage to property, and the introduction of the ‘neighbour principle’ and the ‘Caparo test' into English Law. In the second module, we discuss the modern approach to duty of care, including the role of established principles and the application of Caparo to novel cases. In the third module, we turn to the law on breach of duty, before examining factual causation in the fourth module. In the fifth module, we consider legal causation and the various ways in which a break in the chain of causation can be established.

History of Duty of Care

In this module, we look at the history of the approach to duty of care as it applies to physical injury and property damage, focusing in particular on (i) the old law on duty of care and the impact of modernisation on the law (ii) the landmark case of Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) (iii) Lord Atkins’ ‘neighbour principle’ (iv) the landmark case of Caparo Industries Plc v Dickman (1990) (v) the Caparo test for when one is owed a duty of care.