Question

One morning, Emily travelled to her office on a bus run by Sunny Motor Bus Limited (“Sunny”). The bus was extremely full and she chose to stand close to the exit door of the bus. Peter, the new bus driver, who was unfamiliar with the route, was humming a tune while driving. He had not noticed that the traffic light had turned red and violently swerved to avoid hitting a pedestrian who was crossing the road. At that moment, the exit door swung open, and Emily fell out onto the street. Emily was seriously injured and suffered broken arms. Required:

(a) Discuss whether Emily is entitled to bring a legal action against Peter for her injuries based on tort of negligence. You are required to cite a relevant case in your explanation.

(b) Discuss whether Emily is liable for contributory negligence if when boarding the bus, she read a notice on the bus door which states that “No sitting or standing in the doorway”. You are required to cite a relevant case in your explanation.

Answer 1

(a) Negligence is about taking reasonable care to avoid causing damage to another person. It applies to both individuals and businesses. There are several factors that need to exist for an individual or company to be able to sue for negligence: duty of care, breach of duty, damage, and causation.

A duty of care makes a person responsible for taking reasonable care to avoid harm being caused to another. The duty of care exists as a result of the relationship between parties. Key examples of a duty to care are found in relationships such as teacher and student, employer and employee, doctor and patient, as well as lawyer and client.

These duties are commonly derived from legislation. However, they can arise due to the nature of the parties’ relationship.

egligence, harm as a consequence of the other person’s actions must be shown. Harm under negligence extends to both physical and mental harm. A court will consider a range of factors and evidence when assessing whether a person suing has suffered harm.

It is important to be aware that the harm suffered must be as a result of the actions of the other person. This is generally determined by applying a ‘but for’ test where the Court will ask: would the person have suffered harm ‘but for’ the actions of the other person.

Negligence generally means careless or inadvertent conduct that results in harm or damage, which is quite common in automobile accidents. One can be negligent by failing to do something, such as not yielding the right-of-way to avoid an accident, as well as by actively doing something (such as running a red light).

Reckless or wanton conduct refers to a willful disregard for the safety and welfare of others. Strict liability may be imposed, even in the absence of fault, for accidents involving certain defective products or extra hazardous activities

Accordingly based on above explanation Emily is entitled to take action against Peter based on tort of negligence.

(b) Contributory negligence” is negligent conducton the part of the plaintiff/injured party contributes to the negligence of the defendant in causing the injury or damage.

• Plaintiff has the burden of proof. He must prove that he has sustained injury from the negligence of the defendant and their stands a proximate relation between them.
• Res ipsa loquitur(the thing speaks for itself) is another condition in which the plaintiff is not required to prove anything as the accident itself afford the prima facie evidence.
• Hence we can conclude that Emily is liable for Contributory negligence as she read a notice on the bus door which states that “No sitting or standing in the doorway”.as she did not take any care and caution to take protection liable for Contributory negligence.