Duty of care

• The first step is normally for the court to assess whether the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff , and whether the defendant could reasonably foresee that his acts ( or omissions ) would have an effect on the plaintiff . 
• The test : 'neighbour principle ' as stated by Lord Atkin in Donoghue v. Stevenson , ( i.e. foresight of the reasonable man ) . It was held that the manufacturer of the ginger beer was found to be engligent towards the consumer of its product because it could foresee that anything inserted in the bottle with the drink would be found by the consumer .