| Unit name | Law of Tort I: Liability for Negligence |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWD10021 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Ken Oliphant |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Tort is the general law of civil liability. It governs our mutual rights and obligations towards our fellow citizens, including our obligation to pay compensation when we cause others harm through our fault (corrective justice).
In practice, the most important tortious liability is for negligence, the breach of the duty of care that we owe to others, and this provides the focus for this unit, which also introduces you to fundamental general principles of tort law which regularly arise in negligence litigation.
There are many reasons why it is important that you study this mandatory unit. First, it introduces you to fundamental concepts that underpin many other areas of law, including those you will have the chance to study later. Secondly, negligence litigation is an important area of legal practice, particularly in fields such as road traffic accidents, workplace injuries and medical negligence, which this unit will help prepare you for. Thirdly, negligence liability is a significant part of society’s response to accidental injury and merits serious study on that account too.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit is one of two compulsory first year units covering general principles of private law (as distinct from criminal and public law); the other is Law of Contract. These two units together constitute the major part of the law of obligations, focusing on our rights and responsibilities to each other. Principles of the law of obligations underpin, and are necessary for a sound understanding of, many other units that you will have the opportunity to study later, including Advanced Obligations, Company Law, Medical Law, Commercial Law and Employment Law. This unit, Law of Tort I: Liability for Negligence, is complementary to the optional second-semester unit Law of Tort II, which covers tortious liabilities other than for negligence.
An overview of content
This unit introduces you to basic ideas of liability for negligence, including the duty of care, the standard of care and the assessment of breach of duty. It also covers general principles of the law of tort that regularly arise in negligence cases, including causation, remoteness of damage, defences, vicarious liability and damages.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will gain knowledge and understanding of core concepts and principles of the law of tort, including the idea of negligence as the breach of the duty of care owed to another person.
You will acquire legal reasoning skills that will equip you for your further study, as well as for professional practice if you decide to become a lawyer. You will be able to engage in legal analysis of real or hypothetical facts, applying rules of tort law to determine whether liability arises or not.
Learning Outcomes
The unit will include lectures, large group sessions and seminars. These activities will typically take place on campus. The unit will also require directed and self-directed learning, which will include activities such as reading materials included in the unit’s reading list, watching videos, accessing web-based supplementary materials, completing online tests and performing tasks for seminar discussion. Teaching is student-centred, and you will be expected to contribute to seminar discussion and to engage in peer-to-peer learning.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
An online test, including both multiple-choice and short-form answers. At each stage of the test, you will be given explanatory guidance to assist you in identifying the right or best answer. After completing the test, you will be given automated feedback identifying any errors you may have made and explaining where you went wrong. There will also be an in-person workshop where we will go through the entire test again and answer any unresolved questions you may have. Seminars in this unit are centred around practical activities and exercises which give you the opportunity to test your knowledge and practise important legal skills. These tasks provide immediate feedback through peer discussion and oral feedback from academic staff.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
An online test, including both multiple-choice and short-form answers. You will be expected to have assimilated the explanatory guidance provided for the formative test and so will not receive that when you do the summative test. This assessment will cover all the Learning Outcomes for this unit.
When assessment does not go to plan:
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, the unit will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis. The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessment required for credit in the usual way.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWD10021).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
