Torts 1 Weekly Notes

Description

Exam-ready, weekly notes for Torts 1. Covers all 12 weeks of lectures, plus prescribed reading assigned each week. Achieved a HD result (88). Topics: Week 1: What is Tort Law? — Purpose and elements of a tort, tort vs. crime vs. contract, types of damages, sources of tort law and the doctrine of precedent. Week 2: Alternative Compensation Schemes — Fault vs. no-fault systems, Transport Accident Compensation, Workers' Compensation, Victims of Crime Assistance, NDIS. Week 3: Introduction to Negligence: Duty of Care — The elements of negligence, Donoghue v Stevenson and the neighbour principle. Week 4: Duty of Care: Established Categories & Novel Situations — Proximity, salient features, policy considerations. Week 5: Duty of Care: Economic Loss, Mental Harm & Omissions/Third Parties — Negligent statements and acts causing pure economic loss, nervous shock, duties to act and control third parties. Week 6: Established Duty of Care in Relationships — Parent/child, schools, occupiers of land, medical practitioners, employer/employee. Week 7: Vicarious Liability & Apportionment of Liability — Course of employment, non-delegable duties, principal/agent, concurrent and proportionate liability. Week 8: Breach of a Duty of Care — Reasonable foreseeability, the calculus of negligence, professional standards. Week 9: Causation & Remoteness of Damage — Factual and legal causation, novus actus interveniens, the eggshell skull rule. Week 10: Defences to Negligence — Contributory negligence, volenti non fit injuria, illegality. Week 11: Proof of Negligence & Damages — Res ipsa loquitur, non-pecuniary and pecuniary damages, duty to mitigate. Week 12: Breach of Statutory Duty — Elements, actionability, and the relationship with negligence.