Durham BA: Negligence Exam Paper

Alice, a professional driving instructor, was giving Ben a driving lesson. While Ben was driving under Alice's supervision, he failed to stop at a red traffic light and collided with Carol's car. Carol suffered whiplash and her car was badly damaged. At the time of the accident, Alice was texting on her mobile phone and failed to notice the red light or warn Ben to stop. Carol has also discovered that Alice's driving instructor licence had expired six months earlier, though she had continued to give lessons. Ben, who is 17 years old and holds only a provisional licence, claims he relied entirely on Alice's guidance. Advise Carol on any claims she might have in negligence against Alice and Ben.

"The courts have struggled to develop a coherent and principled approach to the recovery of damages for pure economic loss in negligence." Critically analyse this statement with reference to relevant case law and academic commentary.

David owns a small chemical factory adjacent to a residential area. Following heavy rainfall, chemicals from David's factory leaked into the local water supply, affecting 500 homes. The contamination was caused by David's failure to maintain adequate drainage systems, despite knowing that heavy rainfall was forecast. Emma, a pregnant resident, suffered food poisoning from drinking the contaminated water and subsequently gave birth to a child, Frank, who has developmental disabilities. Medical evidence suggests a 60% chance that Frank's disabilities were caused by Emma's food poisoning during pregnancy. George, another resident, suffered no physical illness but claims damages for the stress and anxiety of discovering the contamination, which has triggered his pre-existing depression requiring expensive private therapy. Helen's house has been rendered worthless due to ongoing contamination fears, though the water supply has since been restored. Advise on the negligence claims that may be brought against David.

"The decision in Caparo Industries plc v Dickman [1990] brought much-needed clarity and restriction to the law of negligence, but at the cost of preventing meritorious claims and creating artificial distinctions." Discuss this statement, considering both the benefits and drawbacks of the Caparo approach to duty of care.