negligence
negligence the TORT or DELICT of being careless in breach of a duty to take care. The distinction to be made is between the act or omission itself, which is not enough to create legal liability: for this there must be a breach of pre-existing duty of care. Such a duty can exist on the basis of precedent, as, for example, a doctor to a patient or a carrier to a passenger, or can arise through the proximity of the parties. The categories of negligence are never closed and have been extended to cover liability for negligent misstatements. For the tort to be estab- lished, the breach of the duty by the act or omission must also have caused a loss, although if the loss is a pure ECONOMIC LOSS there are difficulties.
The search for proximity or a suitable relationship between the par- ties is aided by the notion of reasonable foreseeability of harm of the
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nemo dat quod non habet
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kind that occurs. But this is not enough on its own to establish lia- bility in every case, although in cases of physical injury or damage to the plaintiff's property it is likely to carry the plaintiff a long way. Negligence in the non-technical sense may well trigger liability under a statute that demands a certain degree of care to be taken. See
ECONOMIC LOSS, FAULT, NERVOUS SHOCK.