Unintentional Torts

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Unintentional Torts
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Definition

• Unintentional Torts are cases in which someone is
  injured by accident or the actions that was not
  intended to cause harm
• Intent is only determined through the concept of
  negligence
• Represents is one of the largest categories of
  tort law

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Negligence

• Negligence is the careless conduct that causes
  foreseeable harm
• Doug tries to push Becky into a pool and in the
  scuffle a third person is knocked down and
  injured
• Negligence can only be proven after three factors
  have been verified

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Factors in Negligence

• In order to obtain conviction the plaintiff must
  prove that all of the factors of negligence were
  evident
• At each stage are key elements required
• Duty of Care
• Standard of Care
• Cause

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Factors in Negligence

• Stage One
• Determine Did the defendant owe the plaintiff a
  Duty of Care?
• Stage Two
• Determine Did the defendant fail to provide the
  plaintiff with the proper Standard of Care that a
  reasonable person would have provided in a
  similar situation?
• Stage Three
• Did the defendants actions (or failure to act)
  Cause the plaintiffs injuries

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Duty of Care

• The obligation to avoid careless action that
  could harm others
• Is usually proven through the relationship
  between the plaintiff and the defendant
• If the defendant knew the other person
• Even if there was no prior relationship the
  defendant could still be proven to have avoided a
  Duty of Care
• Neighbour Principle
• Someone fails to remove the snow from their
  sidewalk and someone slips and falls
• The duty of care element hinges on the premise
  that your actions had foreseeable results
• The ability to anticipate the consequences of an
  action
• By not shovelling your sidewalk it will get
  slippery and create a hazard

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Standard of Care

• The degree of caution expected of a reasonable
  person
• Is determined by comparing the defendants
  behaviour with that of a normal reasonable
  person
• In some professions the standard of care is
  higher than that imposed on the rest of society
• Lawyers they have a higher level of knowledge of
  the law and can be held accountable to a higher
  code
• Doctors are held to higher standard
• Usually in the effort to inform their patients of
  the risks / benefits of treatments
• Failure to do so opens them to Medical Negligence

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• Parent / Child
• While not a profession parents are held to higher
  standard of care then other adults
• Children can be held liable if they commit an act
  that was adult in nature. They do have to
  understand the fact that their act was illegal.
  (11 year old drives his parents car)
• Most cases involving a child put the parent more
  at risk as they have the economic resources to
  make restitution
• Parents can be held accountable for their
  childrens actions based on a failure to teach
  their kids or supervise them appropriately
• Can be charged with negligence
• In some cases the children can hold their own
  parents accountable

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Cause or Causation

• Is usually determined be asserting Cause in Fact
• Cause in Fact when an injury can be directly
  related to the actions or omissions of the
  defendant
• In some cases where there are a number of people
  or the fault can also be ascribed to the
  defendant the judge may divide the blame
• This is called apportionment
• When the actions of the defendant do not lead
  directly to the injuries they can still be liable
  under other factors

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Remoteness of Damage

• A man exceeding the speed limit in his car
  swerves to avoid hitting a dog. His car goes off
  the road and parts of his car are scattered over
  a field. Some goats come along and eat these
  parts, fall ill and die. The farmer may try to
  sue the dog owner for his indirect part in the
  accident

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• When remoteness becomes a liability is due to the
  Intervening Facts
• If the man was not driving too fast the accident
  may not have happened
• The dog was a factor in the accident but on its
  own the fact that the dog was unleashed did not
  directly lead to the death of the goats

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Thin Skull Rule

• Even if someone has a predisposed condition that
  can lead to injuries and they are injured by your
  actions you can still be found liable
• You fail to shovel your walkway and an old man
  with brittle bones falls and breaks his arms, a
  wrist and his pelvis