The Legal Responsibility for Damage or Injury Even If You Are Not Negligent

Even extremely dangerous activities can lead to cases of strict liability. These are the types of activities that are so abnormal that there can be no ordinary care to eliminate the potential risk of harm. Activities such as oil drilling and demolition can be very unpredictable and result in damage, injury or other damage that is not caused by negligence or negligence. Assuming the risk defence means that the plaintiff expressly or implicitly understands that the risk of harm is related to his or her situation or conduct and therefore waives the right to receive damages in the event of injury. Sometimes this is contractually agreed. You want to skydive and sign a waiver with the company that provides this service and assumes the risk of injury if things don`t go as planned. Jumping out of a plane is inherently risky. Loss of income is a calculation. What income did the plaintiff lose as a result of the injury suffered? If a person works on commission, this may be more difficult to calculate than the loss of income of a person receiving a salary. In these situations, the historical gains review can be preserved and used to calculate a reasonable estimate of loss. In cases of strict liability, the defendant is automatically liable for damages caused by the defendant. Plaintiffs do not have to prove that the defendant`s negligent or reckless conduct caused their injuries.

Instead, they only need to prove that a specific event occurred in order to receive damages. In the vast majority of tort cases, the court awards damages to an aggrieved party who has successfully proved his or her case.10 Damages are generally equal to the monetary value of the injured party`s loss of earnings, loss of future earning capacity, pain and suffering, and reasonable medical expenses. Thus, courts may award damages for losses suffered and anticipated. Compensation is classified as general damage or special damage. General damages are not economic, while special damages are economic. A duty of care is based on what a reasonable person would do in the same or similar circumstances. A reasonable person is a legal fiction. It is an objective test, not of what a person honestly thought was right, but of what he or she should have done based on what a reasonable person would have done in the same or similar circumstances. It should be noted that while the reasonableness standard does not change, the « same or similar situation » usually does.

The trier of fact, that is, a jury (or judge in a court case) decides what a reasonable person would have done based on the circumstances presented to them. It is important to know who the members of a jury are. This is the point already discussed in Chapter 5. Voir dire is also part of the selection process of the civil jury. What is considered reasonable for a jury in New York may not be reasonable for a jury in Batavia, New York, and yet both juries may be right. In a case of negligence, it is often true that the defendant trusts that the plaintiff is doing his part – his duty – to protect them. You don`t need to know the person to trust them in the performance of their duties. Whenever you drive on the highway, trust other drivers to behave as responsibly as you want to be to keep everyone safe. If this does not happen, negligence may be a factor, and if these elements can be established in civil court, you may be able to claim financial damages.

If the court has an interest in deterring future misconduct, it may award punitive damages in addition to damages. For example, in a case against a manufacturer for a defective manufactured product, a court may award punitive damages to force the manufacturer to ensure more prudent production in the future. As a general rule, pure economic loss does not satisfy the injury requirement. Sometimes stress or emotional harm can meet the requirement of bodily harm (even if there is no associated physical harm). She chased McDonald`s and won. She was awarded damages, but the jury also awarded her $2.7 million in punitive damages. The evidence presented to this jury showed that McDonald`s was selling its coffee at 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit. That coffee at this temperature on a person`s skin could cause third-degree burns in two to seven seconds. The evidence presented also showed that McDonald`s had been aware of this risk for over 10 years, considering that there were over 700 other claims or reports from other customers that had also been burned because McDonald`s coffee was too hot.

At the time, McDonald`s generated about $1.3 million in daily revenue from the sale of coffee. Following the decision, the parties agreed to a final settlement that included a non-disclosure agreement. Therefore, the exact amount of damages paid by McDonald`s to Ms. Liebeck is unknown. After this decision, McDonald`s decided to lower the temperature of its coffee. Sometimes even seriously injured people simply feel victims of tragic, but ultimately accidental circumstances – with no possibility of repairing the damage. Sometimes these cases involve strict liability without negligence. While no one can be directly responsible for what happened, the law still says that someone is liable for damages. A particular benefit is a court order that asks a defendant to do something. Although rare, a specific benefit is appropriate when monetary damages are simply not enough.

For example, if the subject matter of the dispute is a unique antique that the defendant is now selling to the plaintiff under a valid contract between the parties, the court would order delivery of that particular antique to the plaintiff in accordance with the terms of the contract by issuing a specific enforcement order. The law recognizes tort as a civil offense and allows aggrieved parties to compensate for their losses. Aggrieved parties may claim damages in the form of financial compensation or an injunction requiring a party to cease an activity. In some cases, courts will award punitive damages in addition to damages to deter further wrongdoing. The law firm Sweeney offers free consultations. You will never pay attorneys` fees or filing fees unless we receive financial recovery in your legal matter. Negligence is the legal standard used in most cases of personal injury. Negligence occurs when a person fails to act appropriately in the circumstances and causes harm to another party. This negligence would be imputed to the defendant, since it is an event that he is responsible for preventing. Sometimes there is negligence on the part of both parties involved in a process of negligence. If this happens, the defendant will ask the jury to consider the plaintiff`s comparative negligence and reduce the percentage of the plaintiff`s claims for damages by that percentage. New York is a state of pure negligence in settlement under Article 1411 of the CPLR.

The care required due to the injury can also be calculated based on past and future appropriate and necessary care needs. There are different types of negligence actions, and they all have different requirements.