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Words: 2,850 | Submitted: Tue May 27 2008
... of liability. Although resulting damages must be proved in order to recover compensation in a negligence action, the nature and extent of those damages are not the primary focus of negligence cases. Negligence is a tort which is the breach of a duty of care imposed by common or statute law, resulting in damage to the complainant.2 From this general definition, 3 essential elements combine to make the tort of negligence actionable. These include: (i) There must exist a duty to take care owed to the complainant by the defendant. (ii) There must have been a failure by the defendant to attain the standard of care prescribed by the law, thus leading to a breach of the duty to take care. (iii) Are there damages suffered by the complainant flowing from the breach?3 From the days of the English case of Donoghue v Stevenson,4 It is clear that "the cardinal principle of liability ...
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