LLB102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Tort, Traffic Collision, Mental Disorder
WEEK$9!LECTURE:(DAMAGE&AND&CONCURRENT&AND&
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Re-cap!
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Damage!
1. Recognised!by!law!
2. Factual!causation!
3. Scope!of!liability!
Multiple!tortfeasors!
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3.!Scope!of!liability!
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- Is!the!Pl’s!damage!too!remote!a!consequence!of!the!Def’s!breach?!
o Damage!that!is!too!remote!is!not!covered!in!negligence!
- A!question!of!law!
- Prior!to!LCA:!referred!to!as!‘causation!in!law’!or!‘remoteness’!
- Places!a!limit!on!the!extent!to!which!a!Def!is!deemed!liable!for!the!loss!caused!by!their!breach!
under!s!11(1)(a)!or!(2)!
o A!matter!of!policy!
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Section!11!CLA!
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11!General!principles!
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(1)!A!decision!that!a!breach!of!duty!caused!particular!harm!comprises!the!following!elements—!
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(b)!It!is!appropriate!for!the!scope!of!the!liability!of!the!person!in!breach!to!extend!to!the!harm!
so!caused!(scope!of!liability).!
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(4)!For!the!purpose!of!deciding!the!scope!of!liability,!the!court!is!to!consider!(among!other!relevant!
!!!!!things)!whether!or!not!and!why!responsibility!for!the!harm!should!be!imposed!on!the!party!who!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
___was!in!breach!of!the!duty.!
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Normative!issues!
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Consideration!of!normative!issues,!including:!
(1) Whether!the!damage!was!reasonably!foreseeable;!
(2) Whether!the!breach!was!a!legally!significant!cause;!and!
(3) Whether! (if! there! is! more! than! one! cause! of! a! Pl’s! harm)! any! of! the! other! causes! of! harm!
amount! to! intervening! acts! which! will! limit! the! defendant’s! liability! or! release! them! from!
liability!in!relation!to!all!or!part!of!the!Pl’s!damage.!
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3.1 Reasonably!foreseeable!
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We’re!looking!for!the!legal!cause!of!he!harm;!common!expression!for!remoteness!=!damage!is!
reasonably!foreseeable!!
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A! Def! is! not! liable! for! all! the! consequences! of! their! wrongful! acts! or! omissions,! only! those!
which!are!reasonably!foreseeable!
• Always!to!be!considered!in!every!case!
• *Mahony'v'Kruschich'(Demolitions)'Pty'Ltd''!
!
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Wagon&Mound&(No&1)&
&
Def’s!employee!allowed! oil! to!spill!from!ship! and! spread! under! Pl’s!wharf!(where!other!boats! were!
held).! Oil! ignited! when! molten! metal! fell! from! Pl’s! welding! on! wharf,! damaging! wharf! and! nearby!
ships.!The!resulting!fire! damaged! the! wharf! and! some! ships.!!The!plaintiff!wharf!owner!brought! an!
action! in! negligence! and! nuisance! as! a! result! to! the! damage! caused! to! their! wharf! and! equipment.!
However,!Pl’s!action!negligence!action!unsuccessful!as!causation!in!law!could!not!be!established.!The!
test!of!reasonable!foreseeability!was!not!satisfiedà!Damage!not!reasonably!foreseeable,!as!oil!would!
not!normally!burn!on!water.!The!defendant!could!not!reasonably!expected!to!have!known!that!the!oil!
was!going!to!ignite.!!
=>!Injury!must!be!reasonable!foreseeable!
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Wagon&Mound&(No&2)&
&
How!foreseeable!must!the!damage!be?!
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A!remote!risk!would!not!be!reasonably!foreseeable!and!it!was!held!that!a!real!risk!is!one!which!would!
occur! in! the! mind! of! a! reasonable! man! in! the! position! of! the! defendant! …! and! which! he! would! not!
brush!aside!as!far-fetched!
ð Test!about!what!we!need!for!it!to!be!foreseeable!à!use!term!‘foreseeable’!
- In!this!case!the!ship!was!successful!
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Foreseeability!in!negligence!
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(1) Duty!
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o Any!kind!of!carelessness!
o Damage!of!some!kind!
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(2) Breach!
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- At!the! breach!stage! the!test!of!reasonable!foreseeability!is! quite!broad,!do! not!have!to! prove!
that! the! kind! of! loss! suffered! by! the! plaintiff! was! foreseeable,! just! need! to! prove! that! it! was!
foreseeable!that!the!plaintiff!could!suffer!some!type!of!harm!!
o That!kind!of!carelessness!
o Damage!of!some!kind!
!
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(3) Damage!
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- Test!of!reasonable!foreseeability!in!damage!stage!is!the!kind/!category/class/!character!of!the!
damage!is!the!reasonable!foreseeable!result!of!the!defendant!breach!=>!more!specific!!
- It!does!not!have!to!be!foreseen!exactly!how!the!damage!occurred,!that!is,!the!manner!in!which!
it!occurred!just!the!type!of!damage.!!
o That!kind!of!carelessness!
o That!kind!of!damage!
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Foreseeability!in!damage!
- It’s!the!foreseeability!of!the!kind!of!damage!
o Not!the!manner!in!which!it!occurs,!or!its!extent!
- Example:!
o A! Pl! goes! to! the! aid! of! workmates! injured! in! a! work! accident.! After! he! carries! one!
injured!worker!to!the!ambulance,!he!finds!out!that!the!man!had!died!
o Plaintiff!develops!schizophrenia!
§ Although! the! extent' of! the! injury! (ie.! development! of! schizophrenia)! is! not! a!
foreseeable! consequence! of! the! defendant! employer’s! negligence,! some! kind! of!
mental!disorder!was!reasonably!foreseeable!
§ Provided! the! damage! was! of! the! same! kind,! it! was! not! too! remote.! It! was!
therefore!in!material!that! the! extent! of! the! plaintiff’s! mental!disturbance! being!
schizophrenia,! was! not! foreseeable! as! long! as! some! kind! of! mental! harm! was!
foreseeable!as!a!result!of!the!defendants!negligence!
!
In!*Chapman'v'Hearse,'!
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Chapman!was!the!driver! of! the! vehicle.! Chapman! (C)!injured!in!Motor!Vehicle!Accident!due!to!own!
negligence.!Dr!Cherry!was!treating!C!on!roadway!when!Hearse!(H)!negligently!ran!over!him!and!kills!
him.!!
!
Was! it! reasonably! foreseeable! that! Dr! Cherry! would! get! hit! and! killed?!Was! the! kind' of! harm!
reasonably!foreseeable?!Can!you!reasonably!foresee!that!if!you!drive!negligently,!and!you!crash!that!
someone!might!come!along!to!help!you!and!that!they!might!get!injured!while!trying!to!help!you?!
- Need!to!take!into!account!all!the!circumstances=!night!time,!raining!etc.!
à!The!court!held!that!it!was!foreseeable!!
!
In!considering!C’s!liability,!it!was!held!that!it!was!not!necessary!for!Dr!Cherry’s!estate!to!show!that!the!
precise!manner!in!which!his!injuries!were!sustained!was!reasonably!foreseeable!as!a!consequence!of!
C’s!negligent!driving.!I.e.!That!C!would!be!thrown!onto!the!roadway,!that!it!would!be!dark!and!wet;!
that!a!doctor!would!be!in!the!vicinity!and!would!give!first!aid!with!no!other!person!present!to!warn!
oncoming!traffic,!and!that!the!doctor!would!shortly!be!run!down!
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Eggshell!skull!rule!
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Test!of!reasonable!foreseeability!is!subject!to!the!eggshell!skull!rule!
- A!tortfeasor!must!take!their!victim!as!they!find!them!
o If! the! plaintiff! had! a! predisposition! to! a! mental! disorder,! this! would! not! negate! the!
defendants! liability!(because!you! could! foresee! that! some! type! of! harm! might! be!
suffered!(not!the!exact)).!!
o It!is!not!necessary!that!the!extent!of!the!harm!be!predicted!as!long!as!the!kind!of!harm!is!
foreseeable!
- Once! a! Def’s! liability! to! a! Pl! is! found! because! the! type!of! injury! suffered! was! reasonably!
foreseeable,! that! liability! will! extend! to! any! aggravation! of! the! injury! due! to! some! inherent!
susceptibility!of!the!plaintiff!
o E.g.! if! plaintiff! has! a! genetic! predisposition,! it! doesn’t! matter! if! their! injury! is! worse!
(because!of!this!genetic!predisposition)!as!long!as!you!can!foresee!the!mental!harm!!
o E.g.!Pl!brittle!bones,!a!person!without!brittle!bone!would!not!have!suffered!broken!legs!
if!the!defendant’s!car!backed!into!them.!As!long!as!the!harm!suffered!by!the!plaintiff!was!
a!foreseeable!consequence!of!driving!negligently,!the!defendant!will!be!liable.!Here,!the!
fact!that!the!plaintiff!suffered!more!extensive!injury!than!another!person!would!is!not!
relevant,! the! defendant! would! be! liable! for! the!injury! despite! the! predisposition!of!
brittle!bones! as! it! was! reasonably!foreseeable! that! the! negligent! driving! may! lead! to!
personal!injury.!!
Document Summary
Damage: recognised by law, factual causation, scope of liability. Is the pl"s damage too remote a consequence of the def"s breach: damage that is too remote is not covered in negligence. Prior to lca: referred to as causation in law" or remoteness". Places a limit on the extent to which a def is deemed liable for the loss caused by their breach under s 11(1)(a) or (2: a matter of policy. We"re looking for the legal cause of he harm; common expression for remoteness = damage is reasonably foreseeable. A def is not liable for all the consequences of their wrongful acts or omissions, only those which are reasonably foreseeable: always to be considered in every case. Def"s employee allowed oil to spill from ship and spread under pl"s wharf (where other boats were held). Oil ignited when molten metal fell from pl"s welding on wharf, damaging wharf and nearby ships. The resulting fire damaged the wharf and some ships.
