2021 02 02 Module 3

Tort law centers on vicarious liability and the duty of care within negligence claims. Vicarious liability holds employers strictly liable for employee faults occurring during employment, a status determined by the "close connection test" established in *Lister v Hesley Hall*. Negligence requires proving a duty of care, breach, and resulting damage. The *Donoghue v Stevenson* "neighbor principle" introduced reasonable foreseeability and proximity as foundational elements, later refined by *Caparo v Dickman* to include fairness, justice, and reasonableness. Claims involving nervous shock necessitate a medically diagnosable psychiatric injury, distinguishing between primary victims, who face physical impact, and secondary victims, who must prove proximity of relationship, time, and space. Pure economic loss claims, such as those involving negligent misstatements, require an exceptionally close relationship of proximity, demonstrated through assumption of responsibility and reasonable reliance as seen in *Hedley Byrne v Heller*.