Causation in negligence / Sarah Green.

Oxford : Hart Publishing 2015.

86633

Negligence -- Great Britain.

Proximate cause (Law)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Introduction

The necessary breach analysis and but for causation

Basic principles

Duplicative causation (real and potential) : overdetermination and pre-emption

Material contribution to injury

Material increase in risk

Lost chances

Concluding thoughts.

This monograph seeks to disentangle the various types of "causal problems" found in the law of negligence. The author does this by positing an analytical process called "necessary breach analysis" that is said to be capable of dealing with all aspects of the causal enquiry in negligence. A skeptic might say that this sounds too good to be true, but indeed the author grapples with complex situations such as where there are multiple causal factors all of which are severally sufficient, independent of each other, leading to indivisible injury and affecting the plaintiff at the same time. McHugh J in March v Stramere acknowledged that there was no test of causation that could adequately deal with such a case. "Necessary breach analysis" has at its core the "but for" test. However, it contemplates dealing with causative events. The first stage of the analysis is to ask: Is it more likely than not that a defendant's breach of duty changed the normal course of events so that damage (including constituent parts of large damage) occurred which would not otherwise have done so when it did? The second stage is to ask, by reference to each defendant individually: was the effect of this defendant's breach operative when the damage occurred. This is a work of significant academic endeavor and will no doubt contribute to ongoing dialogue of how to best analyse causation.

Table of contents is taken from the published work with the permission of the publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

9781849463317

xiv, 185 p. 24 cm