Principles of Tort Law

Under the second element of the tort of negligence, the relevant question is whether the conduct of D fell below the standard of care which the law expects of D, and so constitutes negligent behaviour. This enquiry necessarily involves a two-stage analysis: (1) setting the standard of care against which D’s behaviour should be judged (a question of law); and (2) deciding whether D’s conduct met, or fell below, that standard (a question of fact). This chapter considers the first enquiry, while Chapter 7 considers the second.