LANDMARK CASE

Donoghue v. Stevenson

[1932] AC 562 · House of Lords (UK) · Torts

At a glance

Citation: [1932] AC 562
Court: House of Lords (UK)
Area of law: Torts
In one line: Yes. Lord Atkin's 'neighbour principle' created a general duty of care to those closely and directly affected.

1 Facts

A woman fell ill after drinking ginger beer from an opaque bottle that allegedly contained a decomposed snail. She had no contract with the manufacturer.

2 Issue

Does a manufacturer owe a duty of care to the ultimate consumer?

3 What the court decided

Yes. Lord Atkin's 'neighbour principle' created a general duty of care to those closely and directly affected.

4 Why it matters

The foundation of modern negligence law, widely followed in India.

5 Think about it

Who is your 'neighbour' in law?

6 Analyse it yourself

Read the full judgment from an official source or a law database, then brief it in seven steps: facts, issues, arguments, decision, ratio, obiter and significance. Always check the citation before you rely on it.

7 More cases on Torts

Ashby v. White (1703) 2 Ld Raym 938
Caparo Industries v. Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605
Charan Lal Sahu v. Union of India (1990) 1 SCC 613
Gloucester Grammar School Case (1410) YB 11 Hen IV
Hedley Byrne and Co. v. Heller and Partners [1964] AC 465
Kasturilal Ralia Ram Jain v. State of Uttar Pradesh AIR 1965 SC 1039

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