AN APPRAISAL OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TORT OF NEGLIGENCE IN NIGERIA

📄 Project Abstract

It has been established that the development of the Tort of negligence has been gradual. The tort of negligence in its formative stage was treated merely as a mode of committing other torts and not as an independent tort itself. it was increase in population, increase in mechanization and industrialization of society and consequent multiplication of personal injury caused by negligence; have all led to the idea of negligence as a separate tort. The law of tort like those other branches of the law, is concerned with the question of liability. The cardinal principle of liability is that the party complained of should owe to the party complaining, a duty to take care, and that the party complaining should be able to proof that the he has suffered damage in consequence of a breach of that duty. The first attempt to formulate a general principle was made in 1883 by Brett M. R. in heaven v. Pender. After the first attempt to formulate a general principle, there were a lot of uncertainties wh...