Duty of Care in Negligence

James Plunkett is a barrister at the Victorian Bar in Melbourne. He has previously taught law at the University of Oxford and practised at the Bar of England and Wales.

Plunkett’s book will prove a valuable guide to everyone involved in this area of law as to how we should approach duty of care issues in future.

• 1. Introduction I. What is the Duty of Care? II. Making Sense of the Duty of Care III. The Aim of this Book IV. The Structure of this BookV. Scope and Terminology2. The Historical Foundations of the Duty of Care I. Introduction II. The Beginnings of the Duty of Care III. Towards a General Conception IV. Conclusion 3. Methods for Determining the Existence of a Duty of Care I. Introduction II. The Aftermath of Donoghue v Stevenson III. The Staggering March of Negligence IV. The Rise and Fall of Anns v Merton V. Caparo VI. Canada and the ‘Two Stage’ Test VII. Assumption of Responsibility and the ‘Extended’ Hedley Byrne Principle VIII. Australia and the ‘Salient Features’ Test IX. Pockets X. Incrementalism XI. Conclusion 4. Factual DutyI. Introduction II. The Dual Function of Duty III. Factual Duty, Fault, and Remoteness IV. Factual Duty and the Problem of the Unforeseeable Plaintiff V. Why Factual Duty Entered the Duty Enquiry and Why it Remains VI. Why Does it Matter? VII. Conclusion 5. Notional Duty I: General Principles I. Introduction II. The ‘Categorical’ Nature of Notional Duty III. Assumptions of Responsibility IV. Putting it all Together: The Structure of the Notional Duty Enquiry V. A Suggested Approach to Resolving Notional Duty Problems VI. Conclusion 6. Notional Duty II: Theoretical Issues I. Introduction II. The Use of Policy Considerations III. The Need for Notional Duty IV. Conclusion 7. Comparing the Duty Methodologies of Australia, Canada and the UK I. Introduction II. The Study III. The Competing Methodologies IV. Conclusion 8. Conclusion I. Introduction II. Moving Forward III. Conclusion