<Li> causation: the injury to the plaintiff is a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant's act or omission . </Li> <P> Some jurisdictions narrow the definition down to three elements: duty, breach and proximately caused harm . Some jurisdictions recognize five elements, duty, breach, actual cause, proximate cause, and damages . However, at their heart, the various definitions of what constitutes negligent conduct are very similar . </P> <P> The legal liability of a defendant to a plaintiff is based on the defendant's failure to fulfil a responsibility, recognised by law, of which the plaintiff is the intended beneficiary . The first step in determining the existence of a legally recognised responsibility is the concept of an obligation or duty . In the tort of negligence the term used is duty of care </P> <P> The case of Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) established the modern law of negligence, laying the foundations of the duty of care and the fault principle which, (through the Privy Council), have been adopted throughout the Commonwealth . May Donoghue and her friend were in a café in Paisley . The friend bought Mrs Donoghue a ginger beer float . She drank some of the beer and later poured the remainder over her ice - cream and was horrified to see the decomposed remains of a snail exit the bottle . Donoghue suffered nervous shock and gastro - enteritis, but did not sue the cafe owner, instead suing the manufacturer, Stevenson . (As Mrs Donoghue had not herself bought the ginger beer, the doctrine of privity precluded a contractual action against Stevenson). </P>

Which is the first step in establishing liability