Law for business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Law for business - Essay Example Dickman, however, stated that there is a requirement of proximity between the claimant and the defendant (Caparo Industries Place v. Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605). Foreseeability alone is not enough to create a duty of care (Hill v. Chief Constable of West Yorkshire [1989] AC 53, 60). Thus, under the Donaghue test, a duty of care would be established. Donoghue concerned a decomposed snail in the claimants ginger beer. Initially, there was held to not be a duty of care, as there was not a proximity between the claimant and the shopkeeper, as the claimant did not purchase the ginger beer. However, the Donoghue court decided that the shopkeeper did owe a duty of care to the woman, as it was reasonably foreseeable that she would be harmed by having snail in her drink, and she would have been considered to be a â€Å"neighbor† (Donoghue v. Stevenson, p. 580). Thus, under Donoghue, there would be sufficient proximity between the claimant, Jeff, and Rodney to establish a duty of care. Just as in the Donoghue case, there was not a special relationship between the parties, yet the harm was reasonably foreseeable – it was reasonably foreseeable that, if one drinks and drives, an accident may occur. Jeff would be considered to be a â€Å"neighbor† in the loose sense of the term, in that the loose sense of the term would describe a â€Å"neighbor† as anybody who would be reasonably foreseeably harmed by the defendants actions. Therefore, under Donoghue, the first element, duty, is established. Next, did Rodney breach that duty? In other words, did he act as a reasonable man would act? (Blyth v. Company Proprietors of the Birmingham Water Works (1856) 11 Ex Ch 781). This is the objective test for whether or not a breach occurred. At first glance, it would seem that Rodney did not act reasonably – he drank and drove. And, there was some indication that the vehicle might have been unsafe, as it was described as â€Å"rather old.† Therefore,