When considering the subject of this week’s assignment, reflecting on personal history and professional situations did not yield an event that would be applicable to the topic of torts. Therefore, the subject chosen for the topic is that of an accident that my mother was involved in several years ago. The accident occurred as she was driving along Kipling Street in Lakewood, Colorado, on her way home from an appointment. A front end loader that was being used at a construction site on the side of the road, suddenly entered the traffic lane she was driving in. Her vehicle was partially lifted up off the roadway and was literally split open on the passenger side, totaling the vehicle in the damage that resulted from the collision. The driver of the heavy equipment chose to then back-up into the construction area. Physical injury also resulted as my mother broke one of her wrists, the exact one that had recently undergone surgery to repair injury that had resulted from a prior injury.
As outlined by Colorado State University-Global Campus, (2014), this accident is an example of a civil wrong that resulted in the victim being awarded compensatory damages for losses stemming from injury. The lawyer obtained by my parents was initially seeking punitive damages against the City of Lakewood as a punishment for gross and wanton negligence to deter future wrongdoing, but the negotiations resulted in the award of only compensatory damages being paid by the city. The tortfeasor in this situation was the City of Lakewood, as it did not ensure the workers maintained required safety controls at the construction site, but it was not an intentional tort on their part. The lawyer’s responsibility on the side of the plaintiff was to prove n...
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...factors in the accident, thus the award of some damages.
The important information gleaned from this event for my parents and for myself is to ensure detailed information is captured when an accident occurs. It is imperative that medical treatment be sought for even the slightest notice of injury. Not having the medical documentation present at a hearing will hinder the effectiveness of the defense. Pictures of the accident scene are proving to be valuable evidence, as well as documented witness testimonies. Without these crucial items, a defense is weak and the plaintiff may not be awarded what truly is needed as a result of injuries and possible loss of income.
Works Cited
Colorado State University-Global Campus. (2014). Module 5 – Torts. [Blackboard ecourse]. In MGT 320 – The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business (p. 1). Greenwood Village, CO: Author.
“In tort law, the doctrine which holds a defendant guilty of negligence without an actual showing that he or she was negligent. Its use is limited in theory to cases in which the cause of the plaintiff's injury was entirely under the control of the defendant, and the injury presumably could have been caused only by negligence”(Burt, M.A., & Skarin, G.D. (2011). In consideration of this, the defendant argues that the second foundation of this principle should be solely based on common knowledge of the situation. Although, there is a experts testimony tartar is no basis in this case , in the experts testimony or anything else, for indicating that the plaintiffs injury resulted from the negligence of the defendant. The court correctly found the defendant not liable under the Res ipsa
This design defect, however, does not mean that the plaintiff is awarded since the design defect was not the proximate cause of injury for Cheyenne. Due to Gordon’s modification of the seat belt, Ford is not liable for the injuries that Cheyenne suffered. Stark ex. rel. Jacobsen v. Ford Motor Co., 365 N.C. 468, 472, 723 S.E.2d 753, 756 (2012). The evidence supports the idea that her spinal cord injury was a direct result of placing the seat belt behind her back. Preemption as a theory that would bar the Starks from recovering does not apply in this case, since the federal government’s regulations do not make manufacturers immune to design defect claims. Stark’s claims of inadequate warnings likewise do not apply since the misuse of the product, it’s alteration, is the proximate cause of injury. Had the modification of the seat belt not been the proximate cause of injury, and instead a contributing factor, the court might have decided that Stark was only twenty percent responsible for the injury that occurred. This amount of contributory negligence would not have barred them from recovering, according to Indiana Statutes, and Ford would have been liable for the
The refinement of this definition has significant legal implications, as it broadens the scope of those who can sue within blameless accidents. Prior to this, such victims would also face being labelled with “fault”. Supporting the findings of Axiak, by establishing non-tortious conduct as separate from “fault”, similar, future cases are more likely to proceed despite the plaintiff’s contributory
Miller, R. L., and Hollowell, W. E. (2006). 2007 Business law and legal environment texts. Mason, OH: West Legal Studies in Business.
It is unfortunate that accidents that result in injuries are a part of life. Further more it is also unfortunate that often the party responsible for said accident do not feel compelled to offer compensation to the party affected. However in spite of this, there is still hope for the injured party thanks to personal injury lawyers. They are tasked with representing their clients who suffered from these events while making sure that their clients receive the compensation that they deserve. Ultimately personal injury lawyers play a big role with regards to safety initiatives by helping those injured, which is something that we all should aspire to do.
Tort reformers believe that courts must reduce the ability of defendants’ liability in order to avoid economic decline. In the years to come, the proposals likely to generate the biggest dispute include malpractice and class-action reform, limits on noneconomic and punitive damages, and a legislative solution to asbestos legation (Rushmann, 2006). There are many lawsuits. But the frivolous lawsuits should not be taken seriously and not cost our courts and citizens time and/or money.
Keep in mind that Allana’s past medical expenses shown below are from basically one year of noninvasive treatment. The way her back and neck feels right now, she knows that she will have to pursue further medical care. Based upon Allana’s injuries to date, a conservative amount of $5,000.00 per year for future medical treatment would not be out of line to request from a jury. We summarize the minimum damages in the following
Tort reform is very controversial issue. From the plaintiff’s perspective, tort reforms seems to take liability away from places such as insurance companies and hospitals which could at times leave the plaintiff without defense. From the defendant’s perspective, tort reform provides a defense from extremely large punitive damage awards. There seems to be no median between the two. Neither side will be satisfied. With the help of affiliations such as the American Tort Reform Association and Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, many businesses and corporations are working to change the current tort system to stop these high cash awards.
Tort, one of the crucial subjects of study when analyzing common law jurisdictions. Tort, is an action which causes another person or party to suffer harm or loss []. The person who has committed a tortious act is called the tortfeasor while the person who suffered harm or loss from such act is called the injured party or the victim. Although crimes may be torts, torts may not be crimes [] simply because a tort may not have broken a law. In fact, one must understand that the key idea of tort is not to punish the tortfeasor(s) but rather to compensate the victim(s).
Kubasek, N., Brennan, B., & Browne, M. (2012). The legal environment of business: A critical thinking approach (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Negligence, as defined in Pearson’s Business Law in Canada, is an unintentional careless act or omission that causes injury to another. Negligence consists of four parts, of which the plaintiff has to prove to be able to have a successful lawsuit and potentially obtain compensation. First there is a duty of care: Who is one responsible for? Secondly there is breach of standard of care: What did the defendant do that was careless? Thirdly there is causation: Did the alleged careless act actually cause the harm? Fourthly there is damage: Did the plaintiff suffer a compensable type of harm as a result of the alleged negligent act? Therefore, the cause of action for Helen Happy’s lawsuit will be negligence, and she will be suing the warden of the Peace River Correctional Centre, attributable to vicarious liability. As well as, there will be a partial defense (shared blame) between the warden and the two employees, Ike Inkster and Melvin Melrose; whom where driving the standard Correction’s van.
What Is Tort Reform, Anyway? A User-Friendly Guide. 31 Oct. 2003. Web. 28 May 2010. .
As per request of the first assignment of this course, I watched the movie “A Civil Action” starring John Travolta (Jan Schlichtmann), as a plaintiff’s lawyer and Robert Duvall (Jerome Facher) and Bruce Norris (William Cheeseman) as the defendant’s lawyers of W.R. Grace and J Riley Leather companies. The movie depicted the court case fought in the 1980’s among the previously mentioned companies and the residents of Woburn a little town located in Massachusetts. After watching the movie, an analysis using the ethical tools reflected in the chapter 1 of the course textbook will be used to portray the ethical issues of the movie.
Compensation involves monetary awards and can be difficult to decide the proper amount of compensation to make the plaintiff whole. In some instance the compensatory damages may seem too far exceed the actual loss of the plaintiff. In addition to over compensation to the plaintiff, another concern is how lawyers are paid for their services. The perception is that lawyers make to much money compared to the plaintiff. Many people, politicians, and companies believe that tort system is defective and requires reform to bring the system more in line with the original intent of tort
From the 1990s, the reports that cover the compensation cases increased dramatically in the mass media (Almond, 2004). There is a view that a huge number of tort cases in the ‘compensation culture’ are unjustified and unfair. In the mid-1990s, the term ‘compensation culture’ first appeared in a famous British newspaper (Levin, 1993). Actually, this is an extreme view, which will be criticized in this paper. This essay emphasizes the compensation culture is a myth (Morris, 2007). There are three reasons: Firstly, the data of the tort claims declined in recent years. Secondly, some victims do not receive the compensation or enough compensation that they deserve. Thirdly, the mass media and public organizations created the ‘compensation