Loss of chance in English law

Part of a series on common law
English tort law
Negligence
Duty of care Bolam test Breach of duty Causation Breaking the chain Acts of the claimant Remoteness Professional negligence Psychiatric harm Loss of chance Loss of right Res ipsa loquitur Eggshell skull
Trespass
Occupiers' liability
Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 Occupiers' Liability Act 1984
Defamation
Strict liability
Vicarious liability Rylands v Fletcher
Nuisance
v t e

Loss of chance in English law refers to a particular problem of causation, which arises in tort and contract. The law is invited to assess hypothetical outcomes, either affecting the claimant or a third party, where the defendant's breach of contract or of the duty of care for the purposes of negligence deprived the claimant of the opportunity to obtain a benefit and/or avoid a loss. For these purposes, the remedy of damages is normally intended to compensate for the claimant's loss of expectation (alternative rationales include restitution and reliance). The general rule is that while a loss of chance is compensable when the chance was something promised on a contract^[1] it is not generally so in the law of tort, where most cases thus far have been concerned with medical negligence in the public health system.