Atiyah's Accidents, Compensation and the Law

Peter Cane has been Professor of Law in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University since 1997. For twenty years previously he taught law at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. His main research interests are in the law of obligations, especially tort law; public law, especially administrative law; and legal theory. Recent publications include Responsibility in Law and Morality (2002) and The Oxford Handbook of Legal Studies (edited with Mark Tushnet) (2003).

Part I. The Issues in Perspective: 1. Introduction: surveying the field; Part II. The Tort System in Theory: 2. Fault as a basis of liability; 3. The scope of the tort of negligence; 4. Departures from the fault principle; 5. Causation and remoteness of damage; 6. Damages for personal injury and death; 7. An appraisal of the fault principle; Part III. The Tort System in Operation: 8. Claims and claimants; 9. Tortfeasors and insurers; 10. Trials and settlements; Part IV. Other Compensation Systems: 11. First party insurance; 12. Compensation for criminal injuries; 13. The social security system; 14. Other forms of assistance; Part V. The Overall Picture: 15. A plethora of systems; 16. The cost of compensation and who pays it; 17. The functions of the compensation systems; Part VI. The Future: 18. Accident compensation in the 21st century.