Personal injury is heavily focused on both "risk" and
"foreseeability". That is, what is the risk, is it
foreseeable and what could or should have been done to avoid those
risks. Those issues have been extensively developed over the past
century, or thereabouts, following the decision in Donoghue
v Stevenson in 1932.
The issues relevant to risk and negligence have become somewhat
more complex as time has passed. We are now faced with cases where
not only do we need to consider if somebody acted negligently in
performing a certain action, but also the context in which that
action arises.
There is no better example of this than the need of doctors to
provide adequate warning of risks to patients. In providing those
warnings, doctors are able to obtain "informed consent"
from their patients, to confirm that they know the risks and they
are willing to nonetheless undergo the treatment; wither it is to
take certain medications, or to undergo surgical procedures.
