In the words of Anderson B. in Blyth V. Birmingham Water Works Co. negligence is the
“omission to do something which a reasonable man, guided upon those consideration which ordinarily regulate the conduct of human affairs, would do, or doing something which a prudent and reasonable man would not do.”
It is the doing of what a reasonable man would not have done in the circumstances or not doing what he would have done.
In order to succeed in an action based on negligence, the plaintiff must establish the elements of the tort i.e:
• Legal duty of care
• Breach of duty
• Loss or damage.
These are the elements of the tort of negligence.
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