Bringing a personal injury claim—breach of statutory duty

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Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert
Practice notes

Bringing a personal injury claim—breach of statutory duty

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis

Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert

Practice notes
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A Personal injury claim based on a breach of a statutory duty may be possible against any entity that is subject to that duty whether a Public authority or a private body. However, not many statutory provisions give rise to a cause of action in private law. The difficulty arises in determining which statutory provisions permit a claimant to pursue a claim for a Breach of statutory duty.

Statutory provision expressly permits claimants to bring a claim for breach of statutory duty

Sometimes the legislation will make it plain that a failure to fulfil the relevant duty (effectively or at all) is intended to create a right of action (ie to entitle claimants to sue for breach of statutory duty). Where the legislation itself expressly (a) creates a right of action, or (b) modifies existing common law duties, then the position should be relatively straightforward.

The best known example for the purposes of personal injury lawyers is the right to sue if a claimant is injured because of the highway Authority’s

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Breach of statutory duty definition
What does Breach of statutory duty mean?

The tort of breach of statutory duty arises where a statute, which has as its main objective the imposition of a regulatory or criminal law framework, also gives rise to duties in tort.

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