Premium Essay

Elements of Negligent Tort: Analysis and Remedies

In:

Submitted By jbates0708
Words 1336
Pages 6
Introduction The law of torts can be traced back to English Common Law and has become and integral part of Anglo-American Law for hundreds of years .These laws have been modified many times since the late 1800's by state legislatures and these changes have given plaintiffs more chance of success when bringing forth their claims. Original tort law included coverage for injuries suffered while in the workplace but this since has been removed entirely from tort law and replaced with the state administered workers compensation systems. In order for a plaintiff to utilize the law of torts certain elements need to be present so that a reasonable measure of success can be ensured in the outcome.

Elements of Negligent Tort Negligence is the omission to do something, which a reasonable man, guided upon those considerations which regulate the conduct of human affairs would do or doing something, which a prudent, and reasonable, man would not do’ The essential elements of negligent tort are 1) Duty of reasonable care, 2) Breach of duty of care, 3) Breach was actual, and proximate cause of injury .Tort is what is in the tort books but only thing holding it together is their binding’, hence to win a negligence case, plaintiff must prove each of three elements.

Duty of reasonable care: According to Negligence law, normally members of society should behave in ways that avoid the creation of unreasonable risks of harms to others. The standard for assessing such conduct is called µreasonable care standard and in most cases the duty to exercise reasonable care, serves as the relevant duty for the purpose of a negligence claim’s first element .
Breach of duty: This is the second element of negligent tort, which requires plaintiff to establish that defendant failed to act as a reasonable person would have acted, thus negligent law’s focus on

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Aspects of Contract and Negligence for Business

... Business contract shall be defined within the context of law of contract and business law . The former is narrower and the later is wider but all its components are subject to the essential elements of contract. Business law which is also known as mercantile law refers to laws governing and regulating trade , industry and agriculture . It includes laws relating to Contracts , Sale of Goods , Partnership , Companies , Negotiable Instruments , Insolvency , Carriage of Goods , Arbitration..etc. The difference between the law of Tort and the law of Contract is based on obligations and liabilities . In tort the obligations are imposed by law while in contract the obligation of the parties are created by their own free will and mutual consent. Key questions : 1.What are the essential elements of a valid contract in a business context ? Offer and acceptance , intention to create legal relations, consideration ,privity of contract . Types of...

Words: 3365 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Marketing Intelligence

...Table of Content Title Page  Background  Introduction  Rational  Objectives  Methodology  Literature Review  Limitations  Analysis  Recommendation  Conclusion  Reference  Appendix Profile Unique Consulting Company Consulting Services (1994) Website-www.uniqueCC.org.com Address: 119 Street West Kill Road Kingston 10 Unique Consulting Company is a Jamaican management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. Unique serves as an adviser to business, governments and institutions around the island. This company is one of the most prestigious management consulting firms in the island and it is one of the market leading organizations in consulting services. This firm manages a wide array of investments for the firm’s Partners; an objective of the Investing Counseling Function is to help our investing partners create long term wealth by constructing appropriate investment portfolios and avoiding expensive and or inefficient products. At the same time, the products and advices offered must save Partners times relative to those which are available externally. This firm role is to provide investment education, counseling and select products to clients. UCC serves many successful clients like: Tracks & Records, NCB, MegaMart, Sandals, Digicel, Heart Trust Academy, Burger King, Intown supermarket Unique Consulting Company (UCC) was founded in Kingston Jamaica 1994 by Donald Spence and Amy Kindle, The...

Words: 5488 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

Contracts and Tort

...LAW 5072 FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE CONTRACTS Definition: A contract is a promise(s) for the breach of which the law gives a remedy, or the performance of which the law recognizes as a duty. Offer: Showing a willingness to enter into a bargain in such a way that another person would interpret that they could accept and it would conclude the negotiations. It can be words, actions, advertisements (NOT negotiations, estimates or price quotes.) Acceptance: Once an offer has been made, the other party can accept the offer in any reasonable way, including starting performance. The party who accepts can back out up until performance begins. Factors: Were terms finalized? Did performance begin? Consideration: A contract must include a promise and a return promise. It cannot only go in one direction: both parties have to get something valuable (a good or service). A promise of a gift is NOT enforceable because one party gets nothing. The exchange doesn’t have to be equal: one person may value something more than someone else. Enforcement: Breach: Failure to perform Substantial Performance: Doing exactly what is in the contract is not always possible, but the parties have to reasonably live up to the terms. If one party does not materially perform, the other party no longer has to perform. If one party breaches: Damages ‐ The party who is harmed can request money from the other party equal to the loss from the breach. The court said that you can...

Words: 1253 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Stock Evaluation

...the likely decision would be on this issue. Exam: identify the legal issue, apply the law to the facts, and choose the correct answer, ethics or discussion. September 25th, 2015 - Business Torts – Lecture 3 *1 Deceit (Fraud): A false, intentional, representation that was relied upon by the plaintiff and which caused the plaintiff to suffer a loss. [Representation: description or portrayal in a particular way (e.g. through a statement)] Elements of Deceit: * False representation (statement): could be defendants or a third party. * “False” includes half-truths, failure to update information, and silence when there is a duty to disclose. * Defendant knew or should’ve known statement was false. * Intentional ( could be just intention to make representation) * Reliance – plaintiff must have relied upon representation. * Loss – plaintiff must have suffered a loss. Applying law to facts: * All elements of tort must exist in order for tort to occur. * Connected to law of misrepresentation in contract law( remedies) * 2 Defamation: false, public statement about plaintiff that could lead a reasonable person to have a lower opinion of the plaintiff. [Statement: all forms of communication, including social media] * Elements of...

Words: 947 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Law 122 Notes

...framework for risk, it gives you tools to manage the risk  * Ex. Insurance, exclusion and limitation clauses, incorporation     Dimensions of course   1. 2. Risk mgmt.  3. Legal reasoning: rules and analysis   4. Law/ moral dimensions     What is law?  * A set of principle and rules that courts will enforce   * A way of thinking (or reasoning) about these principles and rules better description. Process determines legal reasoning   * It is not just the result of a case that matters. The reasons for the result are where law happens. Law is bound up in the reasoning. So it is important to ask “why” and “how” not just “who won”.     Law vs. Mortality   Law: formally sanctioned, illegal behaviour    Morality: informally sanctioned, moral behaviour   1. 2. Immoral but not illegal  * Lying to friends  3. Immoral and illegal  * murder   4. Moral but illegal     Ethical perspective 1.1 pg.6   Can I watch someone drop without incurring legal liability?  If I can legally do it,should i?  Ethically is it okay?    Ethical reasoning:  * Focus on why something is ethically right or wrong, not just whether it is right or wrong   4 types   When values collide, we can use different modes of analysis to make good judgments in hard cases   1. Consequences: the greatest good for the greatest number. Moral if consequences are good and vice versa  2. Rights and duties: respect rights and perform your duties   ...

Words: 5644 - Pages: 23

Free Essay

Accounting

...Chapter 4--Overview of Auditor’s Legal Liability Liability to Clients-Common Law An auditor is in a contractual relationship with a client. If the auditor does not perform his or her side of the bargain according to contract terms the client can sue for breach of contract. A client may seek these remedies for breach of contract: (1) specific performance; (2) general monetary damages for losses incurred as a result of the breach; and (3) consequential damages that occur indirectly as a result of the breach. An accountant may also be sued by a client under tort law. A tort is a wrong committed which injures another person’s property, body, or reputation. A tort suit by a client is usually based on negligence or fraud. The elements of a tort action for negligence are as follows:1 A client may also sue an accountant for fraud. This tort is harder to prove than negligence because fraud requires scienter or an intent to deceive. Fraud contains these elements: A material fact is one that a reasonable person would consider important in deciding whether to act. Also, an accountant may be held liable for gross negligence by a client. Gross negligence does not require scienter but necessitates proof of reckless disregard of the truth or one’s duties. Gross negligence is referred to by some as constructive fraud. No legal question arises about a client’s right to sue (i.e., standing to sue) because the client and accountant are in privity. Privity refers to the existence of a direct...

Words: 3322 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Torts Outline Ralph Brill - Chicago-Kent College of Law

...Torts Outline- Brill Fall 2001 Overview: *What is a tort? A civil wrong other than a breach of contract for which the law provides a remedy. *Purposes of Tort law: Deter wrongful Encourage socially responsible behavior Restore injured parties to their original condition Peaceful means Intentional Torts I. Intent a. Definition—(1) voluntary acts for the purpose of causing [the essential element of the tort] OR (2) voluntary acts with knowledge to a substantial certainty that [the essential element of the tort] will result. i. For battery, the defendant must have acted with the intent to cause a harmful or offensive touching to plaintiff or some logical extension of plaintiff's person. ii. For assault, the defendant must have intended to cause the plaintiff a reasonable belief that plaintiff was about to immediately suffer a battery. iii. For false imprisonment, the defendant must have intended to confine the plaintiff within some boundaries, from which plaintiff could not reasonably escape. iv. For trespass, defendant intentionally crossed the boundaries of plaintiff's land. v. For trespass to chattels and conversion, the intent factor was identical; the two torts overlap. Thus, for both of these torts, the defendant had to intend to assert dominion or control over plaintiff's chattel. The completed tort would be trespass to chattels if the exercise of dominion or control resulted in harm to the chattel or if it caused the interference with plaintiff's...

Words: 12012 - Pages: 49

Premium Essay

Business Torts

...Business Torts Outline Fall 2009 (Mittleman) |Overview | |Plan of Attack for Answering Questions | |Contractual relationships, where one party alleges a tort. | |Economic Loss Doctrine | | | |Fraud: | |Intentional Fraud (false statement, concealment, omission) ...

Words: 34527 - Pages: 139

Premium Essay

Healthcare Reform

...Tort Law in Health Care Administration: Examination of Negligence LaJuanda Williams LaTonya Reed John Hill Rita Ignatius Public Health Policy, Law & Ethics, PHS 512 Professor Green-Alexander April 11, 2007 Introduction to the Law of Torts A tort is a civil wrong, other than a breach of contract, committed against a person or property (real or personal) for which a court provides a remedy in the form of an action for damages. Tort includes both an individual personal and professional level which involves the healthcare field. A person who commits a tort is called a tortfeasor which can be held accountable for his or her actions in court (Pozgar 2004). Tort law is an important part of the common law and evolves on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, tort law is still predominately court-created law but legislatures are playing an increasingly active role. One example of this is legislators placing limits on the amount of damages that can be awarded in certain types of court cases (Lipthrott 2005). Although state and federal statutes define some aspects of tort law, contemporary tort law remains defined by judicial decisions. Tort can be an excellent vehicle for viewing the nature of the common law, and for observing how a given body of law evolves daily. The basic objectives of tort law are preservation of peace between individual by providing a substitute...

Words: 5321 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

Working with and Leading People

...Aspects of Contract and Negligence for Business TASK 1: BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A VALID CONTRACT IN CAM’S COLLEGE 1. Explain the importance of the essential elements required for the formation of a valid contract. A contract is much more than an agreement between two people. There must be an offer and acceptance, intention to create a legally binding agreement, a price paid (not necessarily money), a legal capacity to enter a contract of your own free will, and proper understanding and consent of what is involved. (Begg, 2009) 1. Offer and acceptance= Agreement A contract is formed when an offer by one party is accepted by the other party. An offer must be distinguished from the mere willingness to deal or negotiate. For example, X offers to make and sell to Y calendars featuring Romanian paintings. Before any agreement is reached on size, quality, style or price, Y decides not to continue. At this stage, there is no legally binding contract between X and Y because there is no definite offer for Y to accept the essential terms of the bargain has been decided. An offer needs not be made to a specific person. It may be made to a person, a class of people, or to the whole world. Acceptance occurs when the party answering the offer agrees to the offer by way of a statement or an act. Acceptance must be unequivocal and communicated to the offer or: the law will not deem a person to have accepted an offer merely because they have not expressly rejected...

Words: 7547 - Pages: 31

Premium Essay

Blaw

... 4. A person who falls asleep while driving would not be liable for any resulting injury since it would be an unavoidable accident. ANS: F MSC: AACSB Analytic 5. The standard of conduct which serves as the basis for the law of negligence is usually determined on a cost-benefit or risk-benefit analysis. ANS: T MSC: AACSB Analytic 6. A reasonable person, as used in the law of torts, is a fictitious individual who is always careful, prudent, and never negligent. ANS: T MSC: AACSB Analytic 7. The general rule for the standard of care used in tort law is: a person is under a duty to all others at all times to exercise reasonable care for the safety of other persons and their property. ANS: T MSC: AACSB Analytic 8. Compliance with a legislative enactment or administrative regulation does not prevent a finding of negligence if a reasonable person would have taken additional precautions to avoid harm. ANS: T MSC: AACSB Analytic 9. In most of the states, a sixteen-year-old who drives a car will be held to the same standard of care as an adult for purposes of determining negligence. ANS: T MSC: AACSB Analytic 10. Liability for the negligent conduct of a defendant requires not only that the conduct in fact caused injury to the...

Words: 8327 - Pages: 34

Free Essay

Tort and Conflict of Laws

...CHAPTER 1 An Introduction 1.1 Introduction: The peculiar feature that tort occupies in private international law is that if the tortious act has been committed entirely locally, then lex loci delicti governs it, irrespective of the fact that whether it has or has not some foreign element, such as, both or one of the parties is domiciled or resident abroad or national of another country. The foreign law is applicable only in some very exceptional situations. Torts in Common Law countries mean civil wrongs to a person, to property, or to a person’s reputation. Common examples are negligent acts causing injury or deaths, conversion, trespass to property and defamation. 1.2 Research Methodology: In making this project report the doctrinal method of research has been used. 1.3 Focus area: This project report focuses on the tort under private international law. 1.4 Scope of the study: In this project report the meaning of tort and law applicable to tort under private international law has been explained. CHAPTER 2 Conceptual Analysis 2.1 TORT AND CONFLICT OF LAWS: Torts in Common Law countries mean civil wrongs to a person, to property, or to a person’s reputation. Common examples are negligent acts causing injury or deaths, conversion, trespass to property and defamation. The same act may be both a tort and crime: assault can be a cause of action in tort and may also be a criminal offence. That is also true in some other situations, for example, misappropriation...

Words: 3643 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Student

...TORTS OUTLINE 1) INTENTIONAL TORTS (3 -5) a) Intent b) Battery c) Assault d) False Imprisonment e) IIED f) Tresspass to Chattels g) Conversion 2) PRIVILEGES (5 - 7) a)Consent b) Self Defense c) Defense of others d) Defense of Property e) Recovery of Property f) Necessity g) Authority of Law h) Discipline i) Justification 3) NEGLIGENCE (PAGES 7 - 11) a) History b) Elements of A Cause of Action c) A negligence formula d) Standard of care i) The RPP ii) The Professional iii) Aggrivated Negligence e) Rules Of Law f) Violation of Statute (NEGLIGENCE PER SE) i) Applicability of Statute ii) Effect of Statute g) Proof of Negligence i) Court and Jury: Circumstantial Evidence ii) RES IPSA LOQUITUR 4) CAUSATION IN FACT (11 - 12) a) Sine Qua Non b) Proof of Causation c) Concurrent Causes d) Problems Determining Who Caused the Harm 5) PROXIMATE CAUSE (12 - 14) a) Unforeseeable Consequences b) Intervening Causes c) Public Policy d) Shifting Responsibility 6) JOINT TORTFEASORS (14 - 17) a) Liability and Joinder of Defendants b) Satisfaction and Release c) Contribution and Indemnity d) Apportionment of Damages 7) DUTY a) b) c) d) e) OF CARE (17 - 19) Privity of Contract Failure to Act Pure Economic Loss Emotional Distress Unborn Children 8) OWNERS AND OCCUPIERS OF LAND (19 - 21) a) Outside the Premises b) On the premises 1) Trespassers 2) Licensees 3) Invitees 4) People outside the established Categories i) Children ii) Persons Privileged to enter outside of Owners consent iii) Rejection...

Words: 13469 - Pages: 54

Premium Essay

Torts Outline

...TORTS OUTLINE 1) INTENTIONAL TORTS (3 -5) a) Intent b) Battery c) Assault d) False Imprisonment e) IIED f) Tresspass to Chattels g) Conversion 2) PRIVILEGES (5 - 7) a)Consent b) Self Defense c) Defense of others d) Defense of Property e) Recovery of Property f) Necessity g) Authority of Law h) Discipline i) Justification 3) NEGLIGENCE (PAGES 7 - 11) a) History b) Elements of A Cause of Action c) A negligence formula d) Standard of care i) The RPP ii) The Professional iii) Aggrivated Negligence e) Rules Of Law f) Violation of Statute (NEGLIGENCE PER SE) i) Applicability of Statute ii) Effect of Statute g) Proof of Negligence i) Court and Jury: Circumstantial Evidence ii) RES IPSA LOQUITUR 4) CAUSATION IN FACT (11 - 12) a) Sine Qua Non b) Proof of Causation c) Concurrent Causes d) Problems Determining Who Caused the Harm 5) PROXIMATE CAUSE (12 - 14) a) Unforeseeable Consequences b) Intervening Causes c) Public Policy d) Shifting Responsibility 6) JOINT TORTFEASORS (14 - 17) a) Liability and Joinder of Defendants b) Satisfaction and Release c) Contribution and Indemnity d) Apportionment of Damages 7) DUTY a) b) c) d) e) OF CARE (17 - 19) Privity of Contract Failure to Act Pure Economic Loss Emotional Distress Unborn Children 8) OWNERS AND OCCUPIERS OF LAND (19 - 21) a) Outside the Premises b) On the premises 1) Trespassers 2) Licensees 3) Invitees 4) People outside the established Categories i) Children ii) Persons Privileged to enter outside of Owners consent iii) Rejection...

Words: 13469 - Pages: 54

Premium Essay

Ronai

...law of contract is therefore key to defining and strengthening relationships. A contract is a mini legal system which has provisions and terms which govern the relationship between parties thereto and hence conferring rights and obligations upon them. The law of contracts is the most important and the basic part of law. All of us enter into contracts in our day-to-day activities. Example, when we buy household goods, board a bus, have a meal at a restaurant, we create legal relations giving rise to obligations. The following questions are very important in contract law; * Is there a contract?—rules relating to the formation of a contract—elements of a legally binding and enforceable contract * Can the courts enforce the same? * Have parties conclusively performed their obligations? * If not, what are the remedies available for the breach of that contract? * (iii). | Nature of Contract and Definition“A legally binding agreement made between two or more persons by which rights are acquired by one or more parties and forbearance or loss on the part of the other person/s.“An agreement creating and defining obligations between parties’’. The agreement referred in the above definitions means a meeting of minds called in law “Consensus ad idem” It signifies that the parties have agreed together about the same thing. It forms an important requirement of a contract—have agreed about the same subject matter, about the price and all terms therein.The above...

Words: 3210 - Pages: 13