A woman claimed damages after allegedly finding a decomposed snail in a bottle of ginger beer, becoming ill as a result. This case established the modern law of negligence and the 'neighbour principle' - that we owe a duty of care to those who might reasonably be affected by our actions.

Water from a mill owner's reservoir escaped through old mine shafts and flooded a neighbour's colliery. The House of Lords held the mill owner liable even though he had not been negligent. A person who brings onto his land and keeps there something likely to do harm if it escapes is liable for the damage caused by its escape, provided the use of the land is non-natural.

Wilkinson v Downton established the tort of intentionally causing physical harm through false statements without direct physical contact. The defendant falsely told the plaintiff that her husband had been seriously injured, causing her severe shock and physical illness, creating liability for intentional infliction of harm.

The warden of a school boarding house sexually abused boys in his care, and the House of Lords held the school vicariously liable. The test is whether the wrongful acts were so closely connected with the employment that it would be fair and just to hold the employer liable. The decision replaced the older test of an unauthorised mode of doing an authorised act.

Rose v Plenty established that an employer can be vicariously liable for an employee's actions even when those actions directly contravene express prohibitions, provided the wrongful act was committed in the course of employment. The case clarified the scope of vicarious liability in tort law.

The House of Lords held that there could be no liability under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher without an escape of the dangerous thing from the defendant's land, clarifying a key element of strict liability.

Landmark House of Lords decision establishing that public authorities can owe a duty of care in negligence to individuals who suffer harm as a direct result of the authority's carelessness in exercising statutory functions. The case extended Donoghue v Stevenson principles to public law contexts.

A flooring specialist nominated by the building owner owed a duty of care in negligence for pure economic loss arising from defective workmanship, despite no contract between the parties. The House of Lords extended Donoghue v Stevenson and Anns, finding sufficient proximity based on the specialist's knowledge the floor was for the pursuer's use and reliance on their skill.

Earth and rock fell from a hill owned by the National Trust and threatened houses at its foot. The Court of Appeal held that the occupier of land owes a duty to a neighbour to take reasonable steps to prevent natural hazards on his land causing damage, once he knows or ought to know of them. The duty is measured by the occupier's resources.

The House of Lords held that auditors of a public company, who certified its accounts under statutory duty, owed no duty of care to an individual shareholder or a prospective investor who relied on the accounts to buy shares. The speeches set out the foreseeability, proximity and fair, just and reasonable considerations, and emphasised incremental development by analogy.

The House of Lords held that a local authority was not liable in negligence to a house buyer for the cost of repairing a dangerous defect in the building, treating the loss as pure economic loss. Using the Practice Statement, the House overruled Anns v Merton London Borough Council and set the modern limits on recovery for defective buildings.

Solvent spilled at a tannery over many years seeped through the ground and contaminated a water company's borehole a mile or so away. The House of Lords held that the tannery was not liable in nuisance or under Rylands v Fletcher because the damage was not reasonably foreseeable, treating Rylands as an extension of nuisance. It also left the creation of any wider strict liability for hazardous activities to Parliament.

Workers who developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos by successive negligent employers could not prove which exposure caused the disease. The House of Lords held that in such a case it is enough that each employer materially increased the risk, and each could be held liable.

The House of Lords held that a cricket club was not negligent when a ball was hit over a high fence and injured a passer-by in the road, since the chance of such an event was so small that a reasonable person would not have taken further precautions. The case is the standard authority that the likelihood of harm is a central factor in breach of duty.

A paying guest died after falling down the back staircase of the private part of a public house owned by a brewery and run by its manager. The House of Lords held that the brewery was an occupier of the private quarters for the purposes of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957, because it retained a sufficient degree of control, but that there had been no breach of the common duty of care. The case is the leading authority on who is an occupier.

Oil negligently spilled into Sydney Harbour was ignited by welding sparks and burned a wharf, a result the defendants could not reasonably have foreseen. The Privy Council held that a defendant is liable only for damage of a kind that was reasonably foreseeable, and that Re Polemis, which allowed all direct consequences, was no longer good law.

A one-eyed garage worker was blinded when a metal chip flew into his good eye and his employer had not provided goggles. The House of Lords held that, in assessing breach, the seriousness of the potential harm to this employee mattered, so that the employer was negligent. The case is a leading illustration of how probability and gravity of harm go to the standard of care.

White v Jones established that solicitors can owe a duty of care to intended beneficiaries under a will when they fail to carry out testamentary instructions. This landmark case extended the tort of negligence to protect third parties who suffer loss due to a solicitor's breach of duty to their client.