Problem question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Problem question - Essay Example Donoghue became ill after consuming a drink which contained a decomposed snail. The House of Lords found that she did have a valid claim against the manufacturer of the drink. A three-step criterion later emerged, which was solidified in the case of Caparo Industries Plc v Dickman.5 A duty between defendant and claimant exists in the presence of a reasonable forseeability of harm, a relationship of proximity between defendant and claimant, and it being just, fair and reasonable to impose liability on the defendant for his careless actions.6 In the present matter, the police were at the festival in order to provide security and crowd control. Based on the number of people in the park, a reasonable forseeability of harm did exist. The facts state that the amount of people in the park threatened to become a safety hazard. A relationship of proximity existed between the police and everybody at the festival, since their job was to provide security at the festival. ... each of duty occurred.7 The test asks whether the actions of the defendant were below the threshold of a â€Å"reasonable man†.8 Defendant must perform his job as a reasonably skilled and competent person.9 On the night of the festival, in an effort to control the crowd, the police erected barriers and cordoned off the area of the park where the band was playing. By doing so, they had not lessened the number of people, but had virtually trapped the people that were there. A â€Å"reasonable man† would not trap a crowd of people when there was already a concern about the number of people in the area. Instead, perhaps dispersing the crowd or refusing entrance to additional people would seem better alternatives. Simple causation is established if â€Å"but for† the actions of the defendant the harm would have occurred.10 The case of McGhee v National Coal Board is usually followed when determining causation.11 With regard to the Jigger matter, since the police had t rapped the people around the stage area, they had no means of escape when the crowd panicked. The surging crowd was also trying to escape, crushing anybody in their path, causing Mike Jigger and Uncle Lewis’ injuries. Finally, the fourth element of negligence is the injury cannot be very remote from the breach that occurred. In the present matter, the claimants’ injuries occurred almost immediately after the breach. Therefore, this element of negligence is satisfied. Based on a review of the facts, it appears that Mike Jigger and Uncle Lewis can establish a claim against the police for negligence. None of the three main defenses to negligence liability appear to be available to the police in this matter. Volenti non fit injuria is a Latin phrase meaning â€Å"to the willing, no injury is done.† This defense