A very brief introduction to the law of tort for students studying the subject for an LLB or GDL qualification.

The word tort literally translates as a 'wrong' or 'injustice' and generally involves a civil wrong rather than criminal liability although crimes can be torts. A tort involve a number of elements that combine to form liability:

1) Duty of care: can involve a number of relationships and in the modern era derives from the 'neighbour principle' in the famous case of Donoghue v Stevenson [1932].

2) Breach of the duty of care.

3) Causation: is split into factual causation that focuses on the actions of the defendant (but-for test in Barnett v Chelsea & Kensington Hospital [1969]) and legal causation or remoteness that examines the role of third parties and the claimant on the chain of causation.

4) Damage: is normally physical harm to another person but can also be psychological harm or even damage to reputation.

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