ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the second of the elements the claimant must establish for a successful claim in negligence: breach of duty. It explains the test for breach of duty: did the defendant fall below a reasonable standard of care? It notes that determining whether a defendant did fall below a reasonable standard of care involves consideration of the risks created by the defendant’s actions as well as the precautions the defendant ought reasonably to have taken in response to such risk. The chapter goes on to explain the standard of reasonable care as the standard of care to be expected of the ordinary reasonable person in the defendant’s position. It notes that the standard of care is objective and impersonal, so that it does not depend on the personal characteristics of the individual defendant. It explains how this objective standard applies both in the case of under-skilled defendants and in the case of defendants who exercise special skills. It also notes how the standard applies to defendants who are children. Finally, it considers the burden of proving breach of duty, and outlines the application of the principle of res ipsa loquitur (‘the thing speaks for itself’).
