16. Breach of Statutory Duty

Abstract

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter deals with the action for breach of statutory duty, an action in tort meant to remedy harm caused by a breach of the duty. It first considers the distinctiveness of the tort of breach of statutory duty, with particular reference to the question of whether the breach gives rise to liability at common law. It then looks at case law involving civil liability for breach of industrial safety, citing Groves v Wimborne (Lord) [1898] 2 QB 402 and its significance in the context of workplace injuries. It also discusses cases dealing with ‘social welfare’ legislation and ‘public law duties’ as well as civil liberties before concluding with an assessment of the effect of the restrictive approach to the action for breach of statutory duty on the tort of negligence.