untitled

Negligence 235

As long as a certain type of damage is foreseeable, then the defendant will be liable for
all damage of that type. So the ‘eggshell skull’ rule holds that if a certain amount of injury
to the person was foreseeable then the defendant will be liable for much greater injury
suffered by a particularly sensitive claimant. For example, in Smith vLeech Brain (1962)
the defendants’ negligence caused the claimant to suffer injury when a drop of molten metal
splashed onto his lip. Unknown to anyone, the claimant was particularly prone to cancer.
The injury to his lip caused him to develop cancer, from which he died. The defendants
were liable for the claimant’s death, even though a burnt lip would not have caused death
in many cases.

Damages

It has already been stated that the purpose of tort damages is to put the injured party into
the position he or she would have been in if the tort had not been committed.
Where the loss consists of damage to goods the amount of damages will usually be the
cost of repairing or replacing the goods. A claim might also be made for not being able to
use the goods until they could be repaired or replaced. Such a claim might include an
amount for lost profit.

Damages for personal injuries

Whenever damages are claimed in respect of personal injuries, the law makes a distinction
between special damages and general damages. This distinction is made whether the
personal injury was caused by a breach of contract or by a tort. When a claim is made for
special damages, the amount of money claimed in respect of a loss can be calculated exactly
because the claimant can itemise the loss and prove that it arose. When a claim for general
damages is made, however, the amount of damages claimed in respect of a loss cannot be
itemised and proved exactly, but will be assessed by the judge who hears the case.
As special damages can be calculated exactly, they could be claimed for the following
matters: loss of earnings before the case came to trial; the cost of private medical care up to
the time of the trial; and money lost by other people (such as relatives) who have provided
services which became reasonably necessary on account of the injury to the claimant. In
most cases, special damages are agreed between the parties, as either allowable or not,
before the case comes to court. If this is not agreed, the judge will rule on which claims are
to be allowed.
As general damages cannot be calculated exactly, they could be claimed for the follow-
ing matters: pain and suffering, whether it was endured before the trial or likely to arise in

a welding torch set fire to a large bale of cotton which was floating in the water. This bale

ignited the oil and extensive damage was caused to the claimants’ wharf. The defendants

did not know, and could not have been expected to know, that furnace oil floating on water

could be ignited.

HeldEven though the defendants had negligently spilt the oil, they were not liable for the

damage which the fire caused. Fire was not a foreseeable type of damage. Therefore, the

defendants were not liable for any fire damage. If a claim had been made for pollution by

oil then the defendants would have been liable for this, because this was a foreseeable type

of damage.