Eggshell tendency meaning

In practice, eggshell tendency describes a claimant’s pre-existing vulnerability or medical condition that makes the consequences of an injury worse than in a typical person. Where a defendant’s negligence causes a foreseeable kind of injury, the defendant must take the victim as found and is liable for the full extent of the damage, even if the severity is due to the claimant’s particular susceptibility. This is commonly referred to as the thin skull or eggshell skull rule. The concept is not defined in legislation; it is a common law principle developed in case law and is applied consistently across England and Wales, Scotland (delict), Northern Ireland and Ireland. It applies to physical and psychiatric vulnerabilities. Key features and practical significance: - Foreseeability of the type of harm is required; the precise extent need not be foreseeable. - Causation and remoteness are assessed in the usual way, with medical evidence often central to apportioning damage. - Distinct from the “crumbling skull” scenario, where a pre-existing condition would have deteriorated in any event; damages are then limited to the acceleration or aggravation caused by the tort or delict. Used frequently in personal injury and clinical negligence to determine liability and quantum.