First Principles of Business Law

5. Breach of a duty of care

5.2.6. Justifiability

It is possible that taking the risk of particular foreseeable harm is justified in the circumstances. Consider each of the following arguments. Bearing in mind the facts of the case-study, click on the one that is most likely to succeed.

(a) When action to prevent particular harm will most likely cause some other harm to occur, there can be no legal obligation to avoid the initial harm.

(b) When action to prevent particular harm will most likely cause some other harm to occur, this is at most one of the factors to be weighed when deciding what action it is reasonable to take.