2. Duty of care I: foundational principles

Abstract

This chapter examines the foundational principles of the duty of care in tort law. It explains that the duty of care framework comprises three stages—those of: the reasonable foreseeability of injury to a class of persons which includes the claimant; a sufficient relationship of proximity between the claimant and the defendant; and inquiry into whether it would be fair, just, and reasonable to recognise a duty (otherwise known as the policy limb). It discusses the precedent set by Caparo Industries v Dickman and modern approaches to the duty of care (especially that represented by the case of Robinson v Chief Constable).