Product liability is concerned with circumstances where a product has been supplied and causes damage by virtue of some characteristic that might be described as a defect. The main source of law in this area lies in relation to contracts for the sale of goods, where normally the relationship between a buyer and a seller will be regulated by their contractual arrangements, including any valid exclusion clauses. Problems arise however, even in relation to actions by buyers against sellers where the seller is, for example, insolvent or untraceable, or perhaps where he is protected from contractual liability by an exclusion clause. Further, the defective goods may not only injure the buyer, and the contract is unlikely to provide a remedy for potential claimants not party to the contract of supply, since it must be comparatively rare for such a person to derive any benefit from the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. In such circumstances a claimant, whether buyer or not, will be forced to rely on the law of tort or on statute for a remedy. This chapter examines such claims firstly those founded on negligence at common law and then under statute where there is strict liability for defective products.
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18. Product liability
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12. Damages
Dr Karen Dyer and Dr Anil Balan
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the issue of damages, covering key debates, sample questions, diagram answer plan, tips for getting extra marks, and online resources. To answer questions on this topic, students need to understand the following: the primary purpose behind an award of damages; the different types of damages; the three principal types of damage for which a remedy may be available: personal injury (death and psychiatric harm included), property damage, economic loss; and how to calculate an award (in principle).
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19. Damages for death and personal injuries
The law relating to damages for personal injuries is a large and complicated subject. Where a living claimant sues, the award will usually be for a lump sum to compensate for such matters as loss of future income, pain, suffering and loss of amenity. This once and for all payment has the advantage of finality and is preferred by many claimants, but there may be occasions where it is inappropriate. The chapter focuses on what damages are awarded for in tort law and how they are calculated, as well as some of the criticisms and problems that such calculations often raise. It discusses types of action for damages, calculation of loss of earnings and other losses and intangible losses.
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26. Remedies
This chapter examines the basic principles of remedies for tort claims. The judicial remedies include damages and injunctions. This chapter discusses principles concerning the award of the different types of damages, which include nominal damages (for rights infringements resulting in no tangible loss), aggravated damages (for affronts to the claimant’s dignity), exemplary damages (which are designed to punish and deter future wrongdoing), and contemptuous damages. Special reference is made to the application of the principles in cases of death and personal injury, the former topic encompassing discussion of the survival of actions principle and of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.
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15. Other Systems
Celebrated for their conceptual clarity, titles in the Clarendon Law Series offer concise, accessible overviews of major fields of law and legal thought. This chapter considers other schemes which are designed precisely to ensure that a victim of a wrong receives compensation. Many persons are injured or killed by motorists who do not have the insurance required by law against their liability. If a victim obtains a judgement against such a motorist and it is not paid off in seven days, it will be met by the Motor Insurers Bureau, representing the that branch of insurance firms in the UK. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority makes awards for personal injury directly attributable to a crime of violence. The Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 makes payments for those damaged as a result of vaccination against specified diseases.
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19. Damages for death and personal injuries
The law relating to damages for personal injuries is a large and complicated subject. Where a living claimant sues, the award will usually be for a lump sum to compensate for such matters as loss of future income, pain, suffering and loss of amenity. This once and for all payment has the advantage of finality and is preferred by many claimants, but there may be occasions where it is inappropriate. The chapter focuses on what damages are awarded for in tort law and how they are calculated, as well as some of the criticisms and problems that such calculations often raise. It discusses types of action for damages, calculation of loss of earnings and other losses and intangible losses, including claims for bereavement.
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11. The Tortious Liability of Businesses in Negligence and Nuisance
This chapter first discusses one of the most important torts—negligence—which may be commonly seen in instances of personal injury. This is followed by a discussion on acts of private and public nuisance. Torts law is particularly relevant to businesses as they need to be aware of the extent of their potential liabilities to workers, visitors to business premises, other businesses, and to the general public. This extends to ensuring that safe systems of work exist and appropriate insurance is maintained. Contrary to civil law, torts law imposes obligations on parties who wish to undertake duties freely and agree to be legally bound via contracts without, necessarily, prior agreement. The duty is to take reasonable care and not intentionally or negligently cause harm or damage.
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21. Limitation
This chapter discusses the rules on limitation. The expiry of a limitation period provides a defendant with a complete defence to a claim. Limitation is a procedural defence. It will not be taken by the court of its own motion, but must be specifically set out in the defence. Limitation runs from accrual, which is when all the necessary elements for the cause of action are in existence. Technically, time runs from the day after the accident or breach, and stops running when the claim is brought. This is when the claimant has done everything they can to issue the claim form. Time does not run if the claimant is under disability, and in cases of fraud, mistake, and concealment. In personal injury and latent damage claims time will not start running until the claimant has the requisite ‘knowledge’, and there is a discretion to disapply limitation in personal injury claims.
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11. Health and Safety at Work
This chapter considers the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974. It covers the background to the HASAWA, covering both the criminal and civil liability for health and safety. It considers the powers of inspectors, enforcement of the Act, improvement notices and prohibition notices, the burden of proof and appeals; statutory duties on health, safety, and welfare; the impact of European law; burden of proof; the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007; and compensation for injuries at work. It also looks at a number of health and safety regulations, including the ‘six pack’. Also looked at is the extent of the employer’s duty, and its duty to unborn children, and the limitation period for bringing an action and risk assessments and employers’ duties in relation to Coronavirus.
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25. Health and safety—The civil law
This chapter looks at the civil law arm of health and safety law, which serves to provide compensation to employees or ex-employees who have suffered a detriment due to the unlawful actions of their employers. It focuses on personal injury claims brought to the County Court and High Court and the defences that are available for employers when faced with such litigation. The discussions cover claims due to negligence, breach of statutory duty, breach of contract and constructive dismissal, and stress-based claims.
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20. Biomedical Human Research and Experimentation
G. T. Laurie, S. H. E. Harmon, and E. S. Dove
This chapter discusses ethical and legal aspects of biomedical research. After highlighting the evolution and acceleration of rule-making in this setting, it differentiates between research and experimentation, and articulates a core regulatory concept, namely risk. It then covers ethical codes and legal instruments in human biomedical research, research ethics committees, randomised controlled trials, and experimental treatment, paying particular attention to informed consent and research involving people lacking capacity. It also addresses the unethical researcher, compensation for personal injury in research, research involving human tissue and personal data, and new approaches to research governance.
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21. Limitation
This chapter discusses the rules on limitation. The expiry of a limitation period provides a defendant with a complete defence to a claim. Limitation is a procedural defence. It will not be taken by the court of its own motion, but must be specifically set out in the defence. Limitation runs from accrual, which is when all the necessary elements for the cause of action are in existence. Technically, time runs from the day after the accident or breach, and stops running when the claim is brought. This is when the claimant has done everything they can to issue the claim form. Time does not run if the claimant is under disability, and in cases of fraud, mistake, and concealment. In personal injury and latent damage claims time will not start running until the claimant has the requisite ‘knowledge’, and there is a discretion to disapply limitation in personal injury claims.
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1. Tort: law and system
Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. In civil law, tort provides remedy for a party who has suffered the breach of a protected interest. Tort law protects a wide range of interests. Currently, negligence is the greatest source of litigation with respect to tort. Torts of trespass to the person protect physical safety, while trespass to property governs the ownership of property. The tort of defamation provides remedies for threats to one’s reputation. Another tort-related area deals with the protection of privacy from media intrusion. This chapter discusses the range of activity to which tort law applies and the types of harm for which it provides compensation. It also considers the main interests protected by the law of tort, how the law of tort differs from other branches of the law, and the role of policy and the human rights dimension in the law of tort.
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10. Product liability
Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. Manufacturers and producers are liable for personal injury or damage to property caused by a defective product. The claimant will not only recover in contract for personal injury and property damage caused by the defective product but also be compensated for the cost of replacing the product itself. The Consumer Protection Act 1987 involves a strict liability regime for defective products on a variety of potential defendants. This discusses the limitations of the tort system in providing compensation to a victim of harm caused by a defective product, and analyses the scope and limitations of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
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12. Nuisance
Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. Manufacturers and producers are liable for personal injury or damage to property caused by a defective product. The claimant will not only recover in contract for personal injury and property damage caused by the defective product but also be compensated for the cost of replacing the product itself. The Consumer Protection Act 1987 of the UK involves a strict liability regime for defective products on a variety of potential defendants. This discusses the limitations of the tort system in providing compensation to a victim of harm caused by a defective product, and analyses the scope and limitations of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
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13. Rylands v Fletcher
Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. Rylands v Fletcher was an 1868 case that gave birth to a rule imposing strict liability for damage caused by the escape of dangerous things from land. The tort in Rylands v Fletcher differs from nuisance because it does not consider the involvement of the defendant in a continuous activity or an ongoing state of affairs. What distinguishes Rylands v Fletcher from actions in negligence is that there is no need for the existence of a duty of care and its breach, along with the questionable place of personal injury as an actionable type of damage. This chapter examines the tort in Rylands v Fletcher and the nature of the rule that arose from it. It also considers recent case law developments concerning Rylands v Fletcher and their impact on the current state of the law. Finally, the chapter evaluates the defences pertaining to Rylands v Fletcher.
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7. Negligence: occupiers’ liability
Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. While tort law is largely based on case law developed by judges through the common law, the liability of occupiers for the injuries suffered by those on their premises is governed by two statutes: the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 and the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984. The chapter explains the scope of an occupier’s liability and how it relates to other aspects of negligence, considers the duty of care owed by occupiers to lawful visitors under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, discusses the duty of care owed by occupiers to trespassers under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 and how it relates to the previous common law duty of care.
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2. Negligence
Celebrated for their conceptual clarity, titles in the Clarendon Law Series offer concise, accessible overviews of major fields of law and legal thought. This chapter discusses the tort of negligence. It elaborates on duty of care based on foreseeability, proximity, assumption of responsibility, property damage and personal injury, purely economic harm, psychiatric harm, less serious upset, and liability for omissions. It argues that the common law duty is higher when it requires a person to take active steps to protect others than when it requires only that he refrain from positively causing an injury. But once it is held that a duty exists, its level is always, apparently, the same: it is the duty to take such care as in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable.
Chapter
13. Rylands v Fletcher
Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. Rylands v Fletcher was an 1868 case that gave birth to a rule imposing strict liability for damage caused by the escape of dangerous things from land. The tort in Rylands v Fletcher differs from nuisance because it does not consider the involvement of the defendant in a continuous activity or an ongoing state of affairs. What distinguishes Rylands v Fletcher from actions in negligence is that there is no need for the existence of a duty of care and its breach, along with the questionable place of personal injury as an actionable type of damage. This chapter examines the tort in Rylands v Fletcher and the nature of the rule that arose from it. It also considers recent case law developments concerning Rylands v Fletcher and their impact on the current state of the law. Finally, the chapter evaluates the defences pertaining to Rylands v Fletcher.
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3. Lifting the veil
Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. This chapter discusses ‘lifting the veil’, a phrase that refers to situations where the judiciary or the legislature have decided that the separation of corporate personality from the members must not be maintained. In this case, the veil of incorporation is said to be lifted. ‘Lifting’ is also known as ‘peeping’, ‘penetrating’, ‘piercing’, or ‘parting’. The chapter presents statutory examples of veil lifting, many of which involve corporate group structures and others involve straightforward shareholder limitation of liability issues. It also considers cases of veil lifting by the courts as well as classical veil lifting during the periods of 1897 to 1966, 1966 to 1989, and 1989 to the present. Four cases are highlighted: Adams v Cape Industries (1990), Chandler v Cape Plc (2012), Prest v Petrodel Industries Ltd (2013), and Hurstwood Properties (A) Ltd and others v Rossendale Borough Council and another (2021) as well as important recent case development. The chapter also examines claims of tortious liability, the liability of a parent company for personal injury, and commercial tort. Finally, it looks at the costs and benefits of limited liability.
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