Negligence

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Chapter 20

• Negligence

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Negligence

• The failure to exercise a reasonable amount of
  care in either doing or not doing something
  resulting in harm or injury.

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Elements

• The conditions that make an act unlawful.

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Duty

• A legal obligation.

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Breach

• The violation of a law, duty, or other form of
  obligation, either by engaging in an action or
  failing to act.

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Causation

• The reason an event occurs that which produces
  an effect.

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Damages

• (1) The injuries or losses suffered by one due to
  the fault of another.
• (2) Money asked for or demanded by a court order
  for the injuries or losses suffered.

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Cause in Fact

• One of the elements the plaintiff must prove to
  win a negligence suit. To do this, the plaintiff
  must prove he or she would not have been harmed
  if the defendant had not acted wrongfully.

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Proximate Cause

• In negligence law, the legal cause of the harm.
  This concept limits damages the defendant must
  pay. It covers only harms that are reasonably
  predictable consequences of the defendants
  wrongful acts.

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Foreseeable Harm

• An injury a person could reasonably predict. For
  instance, a person who leaves a banana peel on
  the floor could reasonably predict that someone
  could slip on the peel, fall, and break a bone.
  If this happens, the broken bone is a foreseeable
  harm.

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Contributory Negligence

• The plaintiff and the defendant share the fault
  for a negligence tort and as a result the
  plaintiff is unable to recover damages from the
  defendant.

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Comparative Negligence

• In a tort suit, a finding that the plaintiff was
  partly at fault, and, therefore does not deserve
  the full compensation for his or her injuries.
  It is based on percentages. For instance, if 40
  of the accident was the plaintiffs fault, the
  plaintiffs damages are reduced by 40.

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Counterclaim

• A claim made by a defendant against a plaintiff
  in a civil suit.

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Assumption of the Risk

• A legal defense to negligence tort, whereby the
  individual is considered to have voluntarily
  excepted a known risk of danger.

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Chapter 21

• Strict Liability

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Strict Liability

• The legal responsibility for damage or injury
  even if you are not at fault.

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Product Liability

• The legal responsibility of manufacturers and
  sellers for injuries caused by defective products
  they produce or sell.

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Chapter 22

• Torts and Public Policy

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Tort Reform

• The movement that focuses on changing the process
  of settling tort claims. It emphasizes methods
  other than going to court or establishes
  limitations on how much money the winning party
  may receive.