Health and Safety Law 5e ePub eBook, 5th Edition

2 Civil liability

Introduction

The two main areas of civil liability at common law are contract and tort. This chapter examines the duties that the law of tort has placed on employers. Contract law has generally not been concerned with liability for injuries, disease or death.

An Employer’s Liability in Tort

A tort is a ‘civil wrong’. The three principal torts are those of negligence, trespass and nuisance. The rule of common law is that everyone owes a duty to everyone else to take reasonable care so as not to cause them foreseeable injury. Where an employee suffers injury or disease at work, he may be in a position to sue his employer within the tort of negligence or breach of statutory duty.

The common duty of care

The position at common law ...