Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Negligence definition

What does Negligence mean? In legal practice, negligence describes a failure to take reasonable care that results in foreseeable harm or loss. It is proved by establishing: (i) a duty of care, (ii) breach of that duty measured against the objective standard of a reasonable person, (iii) causation (factual “but for” cause and legal scope/remoteness), and (iv) recoverable damage. The concept is defined and developed by case law. A classic formulation is that negligence is omitting what a reasonable person would do, or doing what a prudent person would not (Blyth v Birmingham Waterworks (1856) 11 Ex Ch 781). The test is objective: the

Consumer Protection Act 1987 Product Liability: Legislative Framework, Defendants, Products, Defect Test, Causation, Damages, Limitation and Key Cases

Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert

Practice notes

Nature of rights under the Consumer Protection Act 1987

It is essential for practitioners to grasp the difference between the rights granted by the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA 1987) and those arising under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015). Whereas CRA 2015 regulates the contractual relationship between seller and consumer, CPA 1987 affords recourse against ‘producers’. CPA 1987 does not curtail a claimant’s scope to pursue alternative remedies against that producer (or any other relevant person in the supply chain), for example in negligence or by alleging breach of contract. Accordingly, in practice a claimant may, where appropriate, advance multiple causes of action. It is therefore common for overlapping routes to be pleaded together within the same proceedings, often. See Practice Notes: Product liability—claims in negligence and Product liability—claims in contract. For further guidance on CRA 2015, see Practice Note: Product liability—claims in contract. For guidance on the principal defences to a claim brought under CPA 1987, see Practice Note: Defences to a claim under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

Potential defendants

Liability for damage stemming from defective products may rest with:

producers—typically the manufacturer of the product or, for raw materials, the individual who mined or abstracted...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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