Introduction to tort law

    Cards (16)

    • Definition:
      • A civil wrong that compensates a person who has suffered a loss, been injured or whose property is damaged due to someone else's actions.
      • The world 'tort' comes from French word 'wrong'.
      • So person has been 'wronged' and suffered loss, injury or property damage as a result.
    • Main aim of Tort Law is to provide a remedy to the Claimant.
      • this is usually compensation.
      • it can also include an injunction - this forces the Defendant to stop doing a certain action.
    • However Tort Law also has a number of additional side-line aims that the courts seek to uphold:
      • achieving and upholding justice
      • Achieving and upholding morality
      • Deterrence - individual, general and corporate.
      • Distributing loss
      • Achieving policy aims (such as consumer or environmental protection)
      • Upholding civil liberties and human rights
      • Filling gaps or shortcomings in criminal or contract law
    • Parties in a Tort Law Case:
      • Claimant
      • Defendant
      • Judge
    • Claimant:
      • previously called the "Plaintiff"
      • has suffered the injury/loss
      • makes the claim against the D
      • must prove D is liable "on the balance of probabilities"
    • Defendant:
      • is accused of being responsible for the injury/loss suffered by the Claimant
      • will be found Liable or Not Liable
      • usually pays compensation if found liable
      • may or may not actually be at fault
      • usually has insurance to cover compensation payments
    • Judge:
      • sits alone (not on a panel)
      • listens to evidence and decides liability
      • if D is liable, the judge also sets the compensation/ injunction
      • can also decide whether the losing party must pay all the costs including legal fees of the other side (usually this does happen)
      • case management
    • The claimant/ defendant can be either a "natural" person or a "legal" person.
      • "natural" = is an individual human being
      • "legal" = non-humans who are able to carry out legal functions like entering into contracts and buying/selling goods. In reality this therefore refers to companies.
      • both an individual and a business can sue and be sued in tort law.
    • Aims of Tort Law:
      • there are 3 "protected interests" in Tort Law.
      • Means if Claimant has one of these "protected interests" taken away by the D, then they will have a case in Tort Law.
      • Your Person
      • Your Land and Property
      • Your Economic Loss
    • Your Person:
      • Physical harm
      • Psychological harm
      • Reputational harm
      • Personal freedoms
    • Your Land and Property:
      • Use and enjoyment
      • Direct interference
      • Indirect interference
    • Your Economic Loss:
      • Money
      • Loss of business
    • The issue of Fault in Tort Law:
      • Fault = whether the D personally did anything wrong.
      • Some torts such as Negligence and Occupier's Liability require the defendant themselves to be at fault
      • However with other torts D can be liable when they were not directly at fault = Strict Liability Torts
    • Compensation Culture:
      • states that we are becoming more litigious (more likely to argue issues in a courtroom instead of resolve them ourselves)
    • Compensation Culture (advantages):
      • provides justice
      • covered by insurance
      • overblown by media - not as big an issue as it may seem
      • encourages good health and safety practices/ deterrence
      • those seriously injury need compensation of future care requirements.
    • Compensation Culture (negative):
      • rising costs of public liability insurance for businesses
      • encouragement of unnecessary claims but huge impact on defedants
      • Risk of "ambulance chasers" or manipulation of accidents (e.g. dashcam footage shows staged crash)
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