Donoghue v Stevenson Analysis - Essay Example

Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 qualifies to be called one of the most important cases in the tort law in the sense it ushered in the very concept of negligence in the Scots Law, English Law and the Law of Wales (Negligence, 2009). Earlier also in the English law there existed the concept of duty of care as per which an individual could claim damages from a guilty party provided that the party under consideration had caused damage to the claimant by performing an act that constituted a breach of that duty of care. However in the cases before Donoghue v Stevenson, this duty of care was strictly confined to specific circumstances (Negligence, 2009). These circumstances were primarily limited to the situations where a person was bound by a contractual obligation to another individual or in situations where the products manufactured by a person were inherently dangerous or manufactured or sold by exploiting fraudulent means or claims (Negligence, 2009). In fact, Donoghue v Stevenson was the case that forced the English law to come out with some general principles as per which an individual is bound by the duty of care to another individual. By virtue of its appeal to the House of Lords, the ramifications of Donoghue v Stevenson found their way into the English Law and the Law of Wales. In a contemporary context, Donoghue v Stevenson constitutes the very foundation of negligence laws in a majority of the countries affiliated to common law.
The Case
As per the details of the case, Donoghue with a friend visited a cafe at Paisley. Donoghue’s friend along with some other eatables ordered a bottle of ginger beer for Donoghue. Donoghue drank some of the beer and as Donoghue’s friend poured out the remaining contents of the beer bottle for her, along with the ginger beer dropped out the remains of a decomposed snail. Later on, Donoghue complained of some health problems and her physician diagnosed her as suffering from gastroenteritis and severe shock. Later on, Donoghue lodged a complaint in the Session Court claiming damages amounting to pound 500, arguing that David Stevenson, the manufacturer of the ginger beer consumed by Donoghue had committed a breach of duty of care towards her by making her drink a beer containing harmful content.
The Session Court ruled that as the beer bottle was purchased by Donoghue’s friend so Stevenson owed no contractual obligation to Donoghue and thus there existed no scope for a breach of contract. Secondly, ginger beer was not a harmful product and Stevenson did not sell it by resorting to fraudulent claims. So Donoghue’s complaint was dismissed on the grounds that it had no legal basis.
Subsequently, Donoghue appealed to the House of Lords.
Impact of Case
Donoghue v Stevenson was an epoch-making case in the sense that it changed and altered the negligence and breach of duty of care law by extending clear instructions as to how to determine whether a person has committed a breach of duty of care to another person (Paisley, 2010). In this context, while dealing with this case, the House of Lords propounded the neighbour principle (Paisley, 2010).
Neighbour Principle
The neighbour principles originated from the Christian theological doctrine of “love thy neighbour” as per which a person should not commit acts of negligence that have the foreseeable potential to cause harm to one’s neighbour.