ABSTRACT
Once a duty of care has been established the second question to ask is whether the defendant is in breach of that duty. In deciding this, the courts look at the defendant's conduct which is judged by the standard of a reasonable person. In determining breach of duty the courts consider factors such as the likelihood of injury, seriousness of injury, cost of avoiding the injury, and the social value of the defendant's action. The best approach is to select factors which are relevant to the facts and apply them. If the defendant has a particular skill they are not judged by the standard of the reasonable person who does not have that skill. They are judged by the Bolam test. If there is evidence of how the accident happened then it is up to the claimant to prove negligence in the normal way. If there is no evidence of how the accident happened then res ipsa loquitur will apply.
