Aspects of Contract and Negligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Aspects of Contract and Negligence - Essay Example The Facts of Donoghue and Stevenson, and the Importance of This Judicial Precedent It is a civil action between two people (Mrs May Donoghue v. David Stevenson). It is important to state that it is not a criminal prosecution. On 26 August 1928, Mrs Donoghue was bought a drink by her friend at the Wellmeadow Cafe in Paisley. She consumed a portion of ginger beer, which contained an ice-cream float. All was well up to this point. However, when the other portion of the bottle was emptied into her glass, something that seemed to be decomposing remains of a snail floated out. The incident made Mrs Donoghue to feel unwell. Mrs Donoghue sued David Stevenson (the manufacturer of the ginger beer) (Scottish Council of Law Reporting 2008, p1). This judicial precedent was of great importance since it was decided by a jury. Most of the civil cases are decided by a judge without the involvement of a jury (Scottish Council of Law Reporting 2008, p1). What Has To Be Proved In Civil Action In Neglige nce And By Whom? A cause of action is a set of facts that establishes a right or claim to sue in the United Kingdom law. A cause of action justifies the commencement of legal proceedings. There are various causes of action. Each action requires certain elements to be proved by the claimant if he or she has to win the case. All the elements of cause of action must be thoroughly explained in the claim with supporting law and facts. The application of the facts based on the law must result in a logical decision and a claim for proper remedy. In civil litigation, the components of each cause of action have to be proved based on the balance of probabilities. A cause of action can emerge from an omission or act, violation of individual rights, failure to execute legal obligation or a breach of duty. All these have to be proved by the claimant in civil action in negligence. The circumstances or facts can cause an individual to seek legal remedy. For instance, in all cases of negligence, th e following elements of cause of action must be considered duty of care, breach of duty, and causation (FindLaw 2012, p1). How Compensation Can Be sought For the Distress Suffered and Loss of Earnings Compensation for damage caused by professional negligence or a breach of contract is usually difficult to deal with especially for the innocent party. In other words, it is difficult for the claimant to be compensated for the distressed suffered and loss of earnings. Decisions made by courts do not award compensation for distress, inconvenience, or anxiety. This is because if they permitted a claim for stress in the simple cases, it would probably open doors for more litigation. However, there are exceptions if the contrary outcome is procured. The objectives of each contract is to offer relaxation, free from molestation, peace of mind or pleasure, thus, damages can be awarded if one or all of the mentioned objectives are not met (Pro Neg 2011, p1). The Lord Atkins’s neighbour p rinciples are applicable in this case. According to the principle, the rule to love the neighbour in law is translated to indicate that the neighbour must not be injured. An individual must be very careful to avoid omissions or acts that can probably injure the neighbour. In law, a neighbour is someone who is directly and closely influenced by the actions of another individual (Chan 2011, p9). Thus, the claimant can seek compensation for