LA2001 October ZB

Tort law

Thursday 15 October 2020

You will have TWO HOURS AND 45 MINUTES in which to answer the
questions, including 15 minutes reading time. You must answer all parts of a
question unless otherwise stated.

You will have an additional 30 minutes to download the examination paper and
to upload your saved answers to the VLE; this time should be used solely for
these purposes.

You must answer TWO of the following NINE questions.

© University of London 2020

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1. Answer the following three questions with reference to the
article: ‘Informed Consent to Medical Treatment Post-Montgomery:
Causation and Coincidence’ (2019) by Gemma Turton.

(a) Summarise the ratio of Montgomery with particular focus on its

possible effects on the doctor/patient relationship.

(b) ‘The issue of causation will present problems for the courts
following Montgomery.’

Discuss the different approaches identified by Turton.

(c) ‘According to Turton, a widening effect on liability may be the

result of applying one approach to the function of the law of
negligence.’

Discuss.

2. Tomasz and Maria arrive for an afternoon at the City Museum, with their
children Jack, aged seven, and Sophia, aged three. They purchase a
museum floor plan, which states at the bottom, “The City Museum
regrets that we are unable to accept liability for loss or injury, howsoever
caused”.

There are many child-friendly activities in the museum. While Jack is

playing on one of the games in the Children’s Gallery, Sophia wanders
off and finds her way into a storage space next to the gallery. It is dark
and, in her confusion, Sophia puts her foot through an empty glass case
which has been left on the floor, suffering serious injury. Tomasz runs
through the museum searching for Sophia and trips over a brush which
has been left on the stairs by “Sparkles”, a cleaning firm contracted by
the museum, spraining his ankle. Jack needs the toilet and when Maria
takes him to the specially designed children’s toilet, she hits and injures
her head on the entrance. There is a sign on the door saying, “Be aware
of the low doorway”.

Advise Maria, Tomasz and Sophia.

3. ‘Recent legislation has sought to improve the balance between Article 8

(respect for private and family life) and Article 10 (freedom of expression)
of the ECHR by limiting the “chilling effect” that potential defamation
liability may have on freedom of expression.’ (Lunney, Nolan and
Oliphant).

Discuss the accuracy of this statement with regard to the current state
of the law on defamation.

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4. Barbara and her daughter Zara live in a residential neighbourhood and
Barbara has run a hairdressing business from her home for over 20
years. They return from a long holiday to discover that they have a new
neighbour Lucy, who breeds and trains dogs. Barbara’s clients often
arrive early in the morning and Lucy’s sleep is disturbed by a succession
of cars coming and going, with shouting, laughing and slamming of
doors. Zara holds practice sessions for her jazz ensemble at the
weekends and the loud music interferes with Lucy’s dog training classes.

An unpleasant smell from the kennels finds its way into Barbara’s
kitchen, making it difficult to enjoy cooking and eating. Zara is losing
weight and her health is affected. When Barbara complains, Lucy begins
to leave a gate open at the rear of her property allowing her dogs to
wander into Barbara’s garden, digging holes and uprooting the
vegetables she grows there.

Advise Barbara, Lucy and Zara.

5. A member of the royal family has accepted an invitation to open a new

wing at Merseyside Hospital. Due to advance publicity, local schools and
shops close early so that members of the community have the
opportunity to gather at the gates of the hospital and welcome the royal
visitor. Alfie, who is in charge of hospital security, notices that the crowd
is beginning to spill into the driveway leading to the hospital entrance,
which is still in use for both ambulances and patients’ vehicles. He
considers taking some safety precautions but does not have time.

Shaz is a teacher who has brought his class of six-year-olds to

Merseyside, one of whom is Ruby. Ruby’s father David is at work but is
following the event on live stream on his phone, hoping to spot his
daughter. As the procession approaches, the crowd struggles to catch a
glimpse and Ruby is shoved forward into the path of a police motorcycle.
Shaz cannot reach her however Vicky, a photographer, tries to pull Ruby
to safety but is too late. Ruby is hit and seriously injured. David views
the event on his phone but does not discover until later that it was his
own daughter who was involved.

Several months later, Ruby has recovered from her physical injuries but
David is drinking heavily and suffering from sleeplessness. Shaz is
experiencing flashbacks to the event and feels unable to work. Vicky
cannot rid herself of guilt, splits up with her boyfriend and becomes
depressed.

Advise Ruby, Shaz, David and Vicky.

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6. ‘Although Hedley Byrne itself was concerned with the provision of
information and advice, it is clear that the principle in the case is not so
limited and extends to include the performance of other services….’
(Goff).

Discuss.

7. Cleo is a massage therapist who works for “Home Spas”. While she is
driving between clients she is attempting to send a text message.
Distracted by her phone, Cleo collides with Willie, a teenager who is
cycling along the edge of the road, on his way to collect some illegal
drugs which he plans to sell. He is knocked into a deep pond. Martina,
an off-duty police officer, jumps into the pond to rescue Willie. Martina
drowns and Willie, who was not wearing a helmet, survives with a broken
leg.

Advise Martina’s estate and Willie.

8. ‘There is at present no general duty at common law to prevent persons

from harming others by their deliberate wrongdoing, however
foreseeable such harm…’ (Goff).

To what extent is this statement an accurate reflection of the duty of care

for omissions in negligence?

9. Syed is house-sitting for his friends Ruth and Tom. He promises to

securely lock their house whenever he goes out. One day Syed receives
a call from his mother, who lives nearby, saying that she has fallen and
needs his help. He leaves the house without locking the door and runs
down the road, failing to look before crossing at an intersection, where
he is hit by Alvin’s car. While it is empty, Ruth and Tom’s house is
entered by a thief, who steals a valuable painting.

At the Norwalk Hospital, Eugene, a trauma specialist, who has been

working for 18 hours without a break, fails to correctly analyse Syed’s
MRI scan and misses a bleed in his brain. Syed sustains a serious brain
injury.

Advise Ruth, Tom and Syed.

END OF PAPER

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