Negligence and Duty of Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Negligence and Duty of Care - Essay Example As the discussion stresses over the past decade or so we have seen a significant growth in the number of legal organizations offering to act for clients on a â€Å"no win, no fee† basis. The majority of cases dealt with under these conditions relate to action taken under the tort of negligence. Tony Weir argues that the tort of negligence has almost reached a position where its principle that â€Å"It is actionable unreasonably to cause foreseeable harm to others,† is the standard upon which all torts are judged, thereby eliminating the need for other torts. This is a view supported by others. In her book on the subject, Susan Hodge agrees that, â€Å"in many ways it is the most important tort.† In this paper, the intention is to examine the validity of this argument by examining the duty of care, which forms the basis of this principle. We find that, although in recent years there have been some attempts to curb the expansion; the tort of negligence is dominating tort actions. This paper highlights that although this document concentrates upon the tort of negligence, it is helpful to provide a brief understanding of Tort law in general. Tort law differs significantly from contract law, which is based upon the execution of a previously made undertaking. The key issue in tort is the protection of an individual’s rights and interests. This relates to their physical being; the property they own; their present and future fiscal position and the esteem with which they are held by society in general. The application of the law of torts generally falls within three classes. These are intentional tort, nuisance and negligence. Intentional, as the word suggests relates to a deliberate act of harm against another, for example an assault.  Ã‚   For any plan to succeed there is a need to have adequate financial muscle to power it. The government currently provides some funds used to facilitate the treatment of addicts mostly through its various public program s. Though the programs are still functional, it is necessary to expand them so that they can take in a greater number of patients and provide better treatment methods than those that are currently in use.