Disclaimer: This work was produced by one of our expert legal writers, as a learning aid to help law students with their studies.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. Any information contained in this case summary does not constitute legal advice and should be treated as educational content only.

Oakley v Walker – 1977

257 words (2 pages) Case Summary

07 Mar 2018 Case Summary Reference this LawTeacher

Jurisdiction / Tag(s): UK Law

Oakley v Walker [1977] 121 Sol Jo 619

REMOTENESS OF DAMAGE – QUANTIFICATION OF DAMAGES

Facts

The plaintiff suffered severe personal injuries, including a change of personality, as a result of the defendant’s negligence. His injuries and in particular his personality changes caused his wife to leave him. The claimant ‘s two young children were left in his care.

Issues

The issue was whether the cost of providing care send attention for the children and of obtaining help with keeping the home and other such tasks which had previously been performed by the claimant’s wife was recoverable under the principles of remoteness of damage.

Decision/Outcome

The Court held that as it was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the personality changes which the claimant had suffered that his wife would leave him and that, if she did so, he would incur the financial cost of caring for their children and of performing those general household tasks which the claimant’s wife had once undertaken, these losses were not so remote as to prevent recovery (applying the test in The Wagon Mound No 1 [1961] A.C. 388). They fell within the general category of practical consequences of personal injury for which a claimant might recover damages. 

However, the multiplier used in quantifying the award of damages for such losses should reflect the possibility that the situation might be resolved, for example in the event that the claimant should remarry.  Damages were therefore awarded for a period of only serve years in respect of the losses caused by the personality changes.

LawTeacher

LawTeacher

LawTeacher.net is the UK’s leading provider of academic legal support, offering both writing services and an extensive collection of law study resources for students in the UK and overseas.

Founded in 2003 by Grey’s Inn graduate Barclay Littlewood, the Company was built on a commitment to excellence, with unique guarantees and a high standard of service from day one.

The team includes over 500 UK legally qualified writing experts, with many practising solicitors and barristers, and several former lecturers.

Areas of Legal Expertise

Contract Law Criminal Law Constitutional and Administrative Law EU Law Tort Law Property Law Equity and Trusts Jurisprudence Company Law Commercial Law Family Law Human Rights Law Employment Law Evidence Public International Law Legal Research and Methods Dispute Resolution Business Law and Practice Civil Litigation Criminal Litigation Professional Conduct Taxation Wills and Administration of Estates Solicitors’ Accounts

Cite This Work

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below:

Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.

Related Services

View all

Related Content

Jurisdictions / Tags

Content relating to: “UK Law”

UK law covers the laws and legislation of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Essays, case summaries, problem questions and dissertations here are relevant to law students from the United Kingdom and Great Britain, as well as students wishing to learn more about the UK legal system from overseas.

Related Articles

Prices from

£ 99

Estimated costs for: Undergraduate 2:2 • 1000 words • 7 day delivery

Place an order

Delivered on-time or your money back

Reviews.co.uk Logo (292 Reviews)

Rated 4.2 / 5

Give yourself the academic edge today

Each order includes

  • On-time delivery or your money back
  • A fully qualified writer in your subject
  • In-depth proofreading by our Quality Control Team
  • 100% confidentiality, the work is never re-sold or published
  • Standard 7-day amendment period
  • A paper written to the standard ordered
  • A detailed plagiarism report
  • A comprehensive quality report