Law of Negligence

This text provides a comprehensive, practitioner-focused analysis of the law of negligence in Ireland, with comparative relevance to England and Wales. It begins by examining the foundational elements of negligence, including duty of care, standard of care, breach, causation, remoteness, defences, and damages, grounding each topic in Irish case law while situating it within broader common law developments. Building on these core principles, the book addresses complex and evolving areas of negligence law, including economic loss, psychiatric harm, contributory negligence, statutory negligence, and strict or absolute liability. It examines how negligence interacts with statutory duties, constitutional and human rights norms, and regulatory regimes, with particular attention to environmental damage, data protection, and state liability.

Detailed consideration is given to procedural and remedial issues, such as burden and standard of proof, limitation periods, apportionment of liability between concurrent wrongdoers, and the full range of damages available in negligence claims, as well as the growing role of settlement and alternative dispute resolution. The later sections adopt a forward-looking and comparative perspective, analysing negligence in emerging and high-risk contexts. The book also explores the boundaries between civil and criminal negligence, including gross negligence manslaughter, and considers negligence within governmental schemes and public policy frameworks. Overall, the book is designed to function both as an authoritative reference for practitioners and institutions and as a structured, practice-oriented resource for students and trainees.

Key Features

• Clear, authoritative, and easy-to-navigate reference work providing in-depth analysis and practical interpretation of the law of negligence.
• Fully up to date, incorporating all significant Irish case law, key UK authorities, and relevant statutory provisions.
• Structured around the core elements of negligence—duty of care, standard of care, breach, causation, remoteness, defences, and damages.
• Provides detailed, practitioner-focused analysis of leading and recent cases, with explanation of principles, trends, and unresolved issues.
• Examines negligence across a wide range of practical contexts, including professional negligence, medical negligence, public body liability, occupiers’ liability, road traffic accidents, sports and recreational activities, and employer liability.
• Includes comprehensive treatment of complex and high-risk areas such as economic loss, psychiatric harm, contributory negligence, statutory negligence, strict liability, and fatal injury claims.
• Analyses the interaction between negligence and statutory, constitutional, and human rights obligations, including environmental damage, data protection breaches, climate litigation, and state liability.
• Provides clear guidance on procedural and remedial issues, including burden and standard of proof, limitation periods and discoverability, apportionment of liability, and the assessment of damages.
• Addresses emerging and developing areas of negligence law, including artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, pandemic response, and long-tail environmental harm.
• Offers comparative insights from England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions, assisting practitioners dealing with cross-border or persuasive authorities.
• Designed to save time by presenting complex doctrines in a concise, structured, and practical format suitable for use in litigation preparation and advisory work.
• Gives practitioners confidence when advising clients, drafting pleadings, and preparing submissions by clearly setting out the current state of the law and areas of uncertainty.
• Helps reduce the risk of costly or time-wasting errors by identifying common pitfalls, evidential challenges, and strategic considerations in negligence claims.