---
title: "Set out the Wrongs Act section 48 and section 49 precaution questions"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/set-out-the-precaution-questions-for-a-failure-to-take-care/victoria"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-SB20261022-5-VIC"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["VIC"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Set out the Wrongs Act section 48 and section 49 precaution questions

> From the risk and the precautions said to have been omitted, build a question table under sections 48 and 49 of the Wrongs Act 1958. Do not decide whether the defendant was negligent.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/set-out-the-precaution-questions-for-a-failure-to-take-care/victoria  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-25

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the risk and the precautions said to have been omitted, build a question table under sections 48 and 49 of the Wrongs Act 1958. Do not decide whether the defendant was negligent. |
| What the lawyer must review | Decide whether each precaution question is met Keep the three section 48(1) conditions separate Write any pleading or advice yourself |
| Written for | Victoria |
| Applies to | [Set out the precaution questions for a failure to take care](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/set-out-the-precaution-questions-for-a-failure-to-take-care.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

The lawyer decides breach. The table only lines up the section 48 and section 49 questions against the facts.

- What the AI does: From the risk and the precautions said to have been omitted, build a question table under sections 48 and 49 of the Wrongs Act 1958. Do not decide whether the defendant was negligent.
- What the lawyer does: The lawyer makes the legal assessment, checks the source material and authorises the output for its intended use.
- Who reviews: Lawyer competent in this practice area
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 23 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Section 48(1): a person is not negligent in failing to take precautions unless the risk was foreseeable, the risk was not insignificant, and a reasonable person in the person's position would have taken those precautions.
2. Section 48(2) lists, among other relevant things, the probability of harm, the likely seriousness, the burden of precautions, and the social utility of the activity.
3. Section 48(3): insignificant risks include risks that are far-fetched or fanciful. Risks that are not insignificant are all other risks.
4. Add the three section 49 points: the burden of similar risks, a different way of doing the thing, and later steps not of themselves proving liability or an admission.

## Notes

- The Wrongs Act 1958 is in force as version 130, effective 25 February 2026.
- A pleading that uses this table is a court document. Practice Note SC GEN 25 and the County Court practice note of 9 June 2026 require the lawyer to verify it.

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: Victoria: a negligence claim governed by Part X of the Wrongs Act 1958

**Deliverable**: A question table for the lawyer's pleading or advice.

**Inputs**

- The pleaded risk
- The precautions said to have been omitted
- The facts and documents the lawyer relies on for each question

**Example**: Illustrative example: The draft treats a later repair as an admission. Section 49(c) says the later step does not of itself constitute an admission. The lawyer strikes that sentence and decides the section 48(1) questions.

**Stop and escalate when**

- The table answers whether the defendant was negligent.
- The lawyer has not identified the risk of harm the precautions are said to address.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) s 48, general principles](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/wa1958111/s48.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) s 49, other principles](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/wa1958111/s49.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Wrongs Act 1958, in force version 130 (effective 25 February 2026)](https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/acts/wrongs-act-1958) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [County Court of Victoria: Use of Artificial Intelligence by Court Users Practice Note](https://www.countycourt.vic.gov.au/files/documents/2026-06/use-artificial-intelligence-court-users-practice-note.docx) (checked 2026-10-23)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Letter of instruction to an engineer](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/letter-instructing-engineer.md) | Letter | Yellow | Letter asking an engineer for the condition, the mechanism and the available precautions in a plaintiff claim, with the precautions section named by the lawyer and no conclusion on negligence. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*