Tort law UPDATED ACTUAL Exam
Questions and CORRECT Answers
What is a 'tort'? Where does the term originate from? - CORRECT ANSWER - • A civil
wrong
• French word for "wrong"
• Who is claimant?
• Who is defendant? - CORRECT ANSWER - • An injured victim of wrongdoing. They
bring an action to recover compensation for their loss/damage
• The person/business responsible for the loss/damage
What does claimant have to do? - CORRECT ANSWER - • Prepare the claim and the
initial evidence
• Suggest the amount of damages
What is a remedy? What are the two types of it? - CORRECT ANSWER - 1) An order
made by a court to enforce/satisfy a tort claim
2) • Damages - the payment of money as compensation for the loss/damage suffered
• Injunction - a court order addressed to the defendant to stop doing something
What does the judge decide? - CORRECT ANSWER - • The liability
• The amount of damages
• If the winning party is entitled to the payment of their legal costs by losing party
What can appeal be made against? - CORRECT ANSWER - • Liability
• Amount of damages awarded
,What if claimant is underaged? - CORRECT ANSWER - Parent/litigation friend takes the
action on their behalf
What is a standard of proof? Who is it on? - CORRECT ANSWER - • On the balance of
probabilities
• On the claimant
What are defences available? - CORRECT ANSWER - • Dispute the case
• Suggest the claimant wholly or partly caused their own injury
What is the main point of tort law? - CORRECT ANSWER - "Person has certain interests
which others have the obligation to respect"
What are the protected interests? - CORRECT ANSWER - • Personal harm
• Physical
• Reputational harm (defamation: libel/slander)
• Personal freedom
• Harm to property
• Harm to financial interests
What are the main aims of tort law? - CORRECT ANSWER - • To provide compensation
to injured victims
• To achieve and provide justice for an injured victim
• It is morally fair that an injury causer should be required to pay for the suffering caused,
penalising a defendant
• Loss distribution - greater liablity should be imposed on businesses/companies whose activities
cause physical injury and damage
• To achieve policy aims of improving standards
• What is the compensation culture?
, • What has the Compensation Act 2006 changed? - CORRECT ANSWER - • Attitude to
sue for even the most trivial reasons/where only minor injury/damage has been caused
• It became an offence to run an unauthorised claims management company
What is the difference between tort law and contract law? - CORRECT ANSWER -•
Contract law - previously entered contract
• Tort law - no formal relationship before the incident
What is a negligence? What must be proved? - CORRECT ANSWER - • An act or a
failure to act which causes injury to another person/damage to their property
• Duty of care + breach of duty + damage caused
What was the Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)? What has it established? - CORRECT
ANSWER - • Beer manufacturers were found liable for causing injury (snail in a bottle)
• The neighbour principle - the person who is owed a duty of care by the defendant. It is anyone
who could be injured by your act/omission
What is incremental? - CORRECT ANSWER - Development of the law through cases
What is the Caparo v Dickman (1990) case? What has it established? - CORRECT
ANSWER - Economic loss = injury/damage
What is a three-part (Caparo test)? Give case examples. - CORRECT ANSWER - 1) An
update of the neighbour principle
2) • Harm is reasonably foreseeable (Kent v Griffiths 2000 - the ambulance could foresee that the
claimant could have been injured if they arrive late)
• Proximity of relationship (Bourhill v Young 1943 - the dead motorcyclist did not owe a duty of
care to the claimant who suffered trauma+stillborn because of seeing the motorcyclist dead in the
accident)
• Fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty (Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire 1990: the
police don't owe a duty of care to the general public with whom they had no previous dealing (no
way of knowing who the victim might be; worse policing if claim is successful)
Questions and CORRECT Answers
What is a 'tort'? Where does the term originate from? - CORRECT ANSWER - • A civil
wrong
• French word for "wrong"
• Who is claimant?
• Who is defendant? - CORRECT ANSWER - • An injured victim of wrongdoing. They
bring an action to recover compensation for their loss/damage
• The person/business responsible for the loss/damage
What does claimant have to do? - CORRECT ANSWER - • Prepare the claim and the
initial evidence
• Suggest the amount of damages
What is a remedy? What are the two types of it? - CORRECT ANSWER - 1) An order
made by a court to enforce/satisfy a tort claim
2) • Damages - the payment of money as compensation for the loss/damage suffered
• Injunction - a court order addressed to the defendant to stop doing something
What does the judge decide? - CORRECT ANSWER - • The liability
• The amount of damages
• If the winning party is entitled to the payment of their legal costs by losing party
What can appeal be made against? - CORRECT ANSWER - • Liability
• Amount of damages awarded
,What if claimant is underaged? - CORRECT ANSWER - Parent/litigation friend takes the
action on their behalf
What is a standard of proof? Who is it on? - CORRECT ANSWER - • On the balance of
probabilities
• On the claimant
What are defences available? - CORRECT ANSWER - • Dispute the case
• Suggest the claimant wholly or partly caused their own injury
What is the main point of tort law? - CORRECT ANSWER - "Person has certain interests
which others have the obligation to respect"
What are the protected interests? - CORRECT ANSWER - • Personal harm
• Physical
• Reputational harm (defamation: libel/slander)
• Personal freedom
• Harm to property
• Harm to financial interests
What are the main aims of tort law? - CORRECT ANSWER - • To provide compensation
to injured victims
• To achieve and provide justice for an injured victim
• It is morally fair that an injury causer should be required to pay for the suffering caused,
penalising a defendant
• Loss distribution - greater liablity should be imposed on businesses/companies whose activities
cause physical injury and damage
• To achieve policy aims of improving standards
• What is the compensation culture?
, • What has the Compensation Act 2006 changed? - CORRECT ANSWER - • Attitude to
sue for even the most trivial reasons/where only minor injury/damage has been caused
• It became an offence to run an unauthorised claims management company
What is the difference between tort law and contract law? - CORRECT ANSWER -•
Contract law - previously entered contract
• Tort law - no formal relationship before the incident
What is a negligence? What must be proved? - CORRECT ANSWER - • An act or a
failure to act which causes injury to another person/damage to their property
• Duty of care + breach of duty + damage caused
What was the Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)? What has it established? - CORRECT
ANSWER - • Beer manufacturers were found liable for causing injury (snail in a bottle)
• The neighbour principle - the person who is owed a duty of care by the defendant. It is anyone
who could be injured by your act/omission
What is incremental? - CORRECT ANSWER - Development of the law through cases
What is the Caparo v Dickman (1990) case? What has it established? - CORRECT
ANSWER - Economic loss = injury/damage
What is a three-part (Caparo test)? Give case examples. - CORRECT ANSWER - 1) An
update of the neighbour principle
2) • Harm is reasonably foreseeable (Kent v Griffiths 2000 - the ambulance could foresee that the
claimant could have been injured if they arrive late)
• Proximity of relationship (Bourhill v Young 1943 - the dead motorcyclist did not owe a duty of
care to the claimant who suffered trauma+stillborn because of seeing the motorcyclist dead in the
accident)
• Fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty (Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire 1990: the
police don't owe a duty of care to the general public with whom they had no previous dealing (no
way of knowing who the victim might be; worse policing if claim is successful)
