Negligence & Human Rights

By Ubong S. Ebong Esq. -
Negligence is a very important issue that cuts across so many aspects of our daily lives & seriously affects our rights. But interestingly, although this area of law is rampant yet it is often overlooked.

Negligence in law can simply be defined as the omission to do something which a reasonable person (under similar circumstances) would do, or the doing of something which a reasonable person would not do. To establish negligence in law you must show that:
1) someone owed you a 'duty of care',
2) that person breached that duty of care,
3) and you suffered damages or losses as a result of that breach.

1) A duty of care is simply the duty we all owe each other to be careful so that our actions do not injure or harm another person. It does not matter if you know the person or the person is far away from you. Whenever your conduct can potentially injure another person or persons, then you owe that person or persons a duty of care, i.e. a duty to be careful.

2) The duty of care is breached or broken when your actions are contrary to or below the expected standard & the standard expected by the law is the standard of a reasonable man. In other words, were your actions equivalent to what a reasonable person would do under the same circumstances? Due to the fact that the surrounding facts in each situation cannot be the same, the test the court will apply in determining if you have breached your duty of care is subjective.

A reasonable person here implies the common man on the streets, the way he thinks & the way he acts. A reasonable man in the eyes of the law refers to an ordinary person of normal intelligence, with average knowledge, & common sense in everyday matters. Sometimes the age & medical condition of the person is also considered in determining if he or she acted reasonably. However, please note that in situations involving skilled professionals, the standard of care expected is that of an average professional who is skilled in that field. For example in medical situations involving doctors, what the law will consider is what a reasonable doctor would normally do in the given situation.

3) There must be proof of damage that was suffered. The law can only provide compensation for those damages that were reasonably foreseeable. In other words, only damages that are the likely/probable consequences/results of the negligent act(s) will be compensated.

Apart from actual physical & financial damages, the law also recognizes that negligence can lead to nervous shock. Accordingly, if someone's negligence causes you to suffer nervous shock, you can sue that person provided:
- the nervous shock had a significant effect on your health e.g by causing illness.
- The negligence act that caused the shock was intentional.
- It was foreseeable or likely that the shock would occur.
- The negligent act put you in fear of your personal safety.

Common examples of situations where negligence could arise are:
1) Employment: both employers & employees owe each other duties of care. Employers have a duty to; hire competent staff, provide safe place of work, safe system of work & effective supervision, adequate working tools & materials etc. Employees on their part have the duty to; obey lawful orders, serve faithfully, take reasonable care of his/her employer's properties etc.

2) Road Users: all road users have a duty to obey all traffic rules & signs, & to look out for other persons & their properties. Both experienced drivers & learners are expected to show the same standard or level of care.

3) Carriers: generally carriers of goods & every other person to whom other people's goods have been entrusted are expected to exercise reasonable care over those goods.

4) Occupiers: occupiers of premises (whether you are the owner or just a tenant) owe a duty of care to persons who are lawful visitors & may be liable for injuries suffered by such visitors.

5) Manufacturers: producers of goods owe a duty to their consumers to manufacture safe goods. Any harm suffered by a consumer as a result of consuming a defective product will entitle such consumer to adequate compensation against the manufacturer. In some cases this liability also extends to suppliers of the defective goods.

6) Professionals: such as lawyers, doctors, bankers, accountants, engineers, nurses, architects, auditors, estate surveyors & valuers etc owe duties of care to their clients. If they act negligently in the performance of their professional duties & such negligence causes any harm to their client, such client can sue for the damages.

And that is all for negligence. Consult ur lawyer for more. 
#KYR


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Right Of Self Defence In Nigeria: The Do's And The Don'ts

By Ubong S. Ebong Esq. -
Image
Today I've decided to talk about a very tricky topic namely: the right to self defence. Before I go further let me just drop this disclaimer that this post does not in anyway support or promote violence. And now to our discussion. First of all self-defence as the name implies, is any act done to protect one's self or property from an unlawful attack or violence. The Constitution passively mentions this right when it talked about the right to life and it makes a lot of sense because there are certain urgent situations where it is not feasible to get the timely help of any of the various security agents when faced with imminent danger. However, this right must be exercised with great caution. Let's now proceed to the elements of a valid self defence. Based on several judicial authorities, a valid act of self defence should involve a process of reasoning. This implies that whatever you're doing in self defence must be reasonable/rational. Therefore unreasonable ac...
Read more

The Right To Define Your Business Relationships

By Ubong S. Ebong Esq. -
Image
Today we are going to talk about the economic right of persons to define their business relationships. Our focus today is on all business/commercial transactions that involve exchange of value (whether goods or services) for a consideration which could be money or any other economic gain. Please note that in the course of this discussion, whenever I mention business/commerce I am also referring to employments, contracts, trades & investments of every kind. The law gives people liberty to determine the terms & conditions of their business relationships/agreements but such terms & conditions must be within the limits permitted by law. This economic right is very crucial because everyone is involved in one commercial activity or the other, & every person would definitely appreciate the opportunity to have a say with regards to the terms & conditions that regulate his/her business activities.  The best way to protect & enforce this right is to get help ...
Read more

Debt Recovery & Human Rights

By Ubong S. Ebong Esq. -
Image
Another prevalent issue in our society is that of debt recovery. Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of challenges in this area which often  result in human rights issues. Therefore it's important to be well guided to avoid suffering or unknowingly inflicting human right violations because ignorance is no justification in the eyes of the law. In the context of our discussion today, a loan is simply money given by one person (called the creditor) to another person (called the debtor) for temporary use, to be repaid with or without interest. Usually, there are 2 kinds of creditors/lenders, namely: 1) commercial money lenders who are registered under the money lenders Act & carry on money lending activities as their official business. Examples are banks & some co-operative societies. 2) Private creditors who are just ordinary people or organisations that lend money based on personal or other reasons & not as a regular commercial activity. Both classes of creditors ar...
Read more

Freedom Of Religion In Nigeria

By Ubong S. Ebong Esq. -
Image
Today let's talk about religious rights. Religion is always a delicate and acrimonious issue in Nigeria which is even the more reason why we all need to know what the law says about religion so that we can learn to respect our different religious beliefs. So without much ado we will be discussing this fundamental right in 4 major points: 1) Every Nigerian has the freedom to BELONG, to CHANGE, to PRACTICE and to PROPAGATE or PREACH his/her religion. Under the law you are free to do any or all of the above both privately and publicly, and either alone or together with other persons. However, this freedom does not exonerate you if you use it unlawfully for instance where you become a nuisance to other people or become a trespasser or where you resort to violence. This is in line with the hallowed principle of law which stipulates that your rights end where another person's own begins. 2) No educational institution can compel its students to undergo any religious study...
Read more