Negligence Case Study

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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. First and foremost, the warden should have been responsible for looking out for the possibility that there would have been people around, between the correctional centre and the medical centre in the city of …show more content…

The defendants could argue that Helen Happy’s suffered harm was incalculable, and that the physical and psychological harm she endured was a random case, and wouldn’t have happened to most people. However, the Thin Skull Rule says differently. The Thin Skull Rule was instituted after there was a man that had a piece of metal debris hit his head, and instead of having a large bruise, his skull caved in. In this man’s case, the judge ruled for him, and said that “you do not get to choose your victim”. Therefore, just because it happened to someone more susceptible -Helen Happy-it does not excuse the harm she suffered and the harm the defendants caused, even if it was a special

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