1. Duty-The accused wrongdoer owed a duty of care to the injured person 2. Breach of Duty- the...
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Transcript of 1. Duty-The accused wrongdoer owed a duty of care to the injured person 2. Breach of Duty- the...
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Negligence and Strict Liability
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Elements of Negligence 1. Duty-The accused wrongdoer
owed a duty of care to the injured person
2. Breach of Duty- the defendant’s conduct breached that duty
3. Causation-defendant’s conduct caused the plaintiff’s harm
4. Damages-the plaintiff suffered actual injuries or losses
McDonald’s Hot coffee suit
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The Reasonable Person Standard
Idealized-a person who acts the way the community expects members to act
Certain professions have a higher standard
Minors driving are held to same standards as adults
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Causation Cause in fact-harm would not have
occurred with out the act Proximate cause-close connection
between the harm in question and the act that caused it
Example: You wrongfully cross the yellow line and hit a truck. Truck carries dynamite and kills a person two blocks away. Are you negligently responsible for the death?
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Damages Must prove actual damages-plaintiff
is entitled to be restored to pre-injury condition
Damages- the money that may be required to accomplish this
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Defense to Negligence Suits
negligence-people can recover damages for injuries if they prove each of the elements by a preponderance of evidence
1. Contributory defense: cannot receive damages if you in any way contributed to the harm suffered
2. Comparative negligence-used in most states-dividing the loss according to the degree to which each person is responsible
3. Assumption of Risk defense-person voluntarily encounters a known danger and decides to accept the risk of that danger.
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Strict Liability Liability without proof of fault Risk or danger cannot be eliminated
even by reasonable care. Example: demolition of downtown
building-even if demolition is necessary, use of dynamite is knowingly dangerous and any injuries that result are the fault of the company without proof
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Toxic Torts, Animals, and Defective Products,
Result of toxic chemicals or hazardous materials
Owners are strictly liable Defective products-Product LiabilityManufacturers have a legal
responsibility for those injured by their products. Drives cost of products up due to research and testing.
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Defenses to Strict Liability DON’T have to prove fault DO have to prove causation and
damage
Defendant could try to show no causation or damage occurred.
Defendant can prove that consumer misused a product or failed to follow the safety precautions
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Tort Reform Ideally, tort law should…
• 1. compensate harmed persons
• 2. fairly allocate benefits to victims and costs to wrongdoers.
• 3. deter risky and dangerous behavior
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Criticism of Current System
$$ awards too costly Lawyers cost a lot and get all the
money Disputes take too long to settle
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Tort Reform Binding arbitration-to avoid cost of
trial No fault auto insurance-no need for
civil suit in an accident
Statute of limitations-claim filed within 2/3 years of incident
Cap of damages-especially punitive damages and pain & suffering damages
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Frivolous lawsuits --Cases without merit-belief that
many bring cases such as these to court against companies that will knowingly settle out of court
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Other tort systems Great Britain-losing party pays the other
sides legal fees Reformers argue this would not be a hardship
on plaintiffs with strong claims because if they won the defendant would pay both sides legal fees
Con: Plaintiffs would be reluctant to sue-end in court order to pay both fees
Con: average lawsuit damages $30,000, very few really costly payouts
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Should Tort System be Reformed?
Con-Incentive to produce safe products and services
Careful development and testing Safety training Proper warning for consumers