Unit 4 of Law of Torts, Motor Accident Claims and Consumer Protection (syllabus: General Defences). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- When does the claimant's own consent defeat his claim?
- Inevitable accident and act of God: harm no care could have prevented
- How much force may a defendant use to protect himself or his property?
- How far does an Act of the legislature protect the person who acts under it?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Leading cases
- Smith v Charles Baker & Sons (1891) AC 325
- Nichols v Marsland (1876) 2 Ex D 1
- Bird v Holbrook (1828) 4 Bing 628
- Geddis v Proprietors of the Bann Reservoir (1878) 3 App Cas 430