First year Tort Law

First Year Tort Law

Introduction

Tort law is often treated as synonymous with 'accident law'. In reality, this is misleading as tort addresses many situations that go beyond compensation for accidents. Law of tort establishes the principal mechanism for the provision of compensation for personal injuries through the tort of negligence (LaFave, 1988). In this context, majority of people are most likely to encounter it in their day to day activities. The institutions of Tort law and civil justice have come to play a prominent role in American politics. The expanding influence of courts is evident in domestic issues, civil human rights, and social regimes. The assignment discusses about an accident that happened with Victoria and what negligence actions happened in the case are identified and against whom. The case also discusses what defendants would do or present to be innocent (Goldberg, 2008).

Negligence and Tort Law

Negligence is an unintentional tort claim in the legal system that can be defined as a failure to act with reasonable care, and results in injury to another person. Negligence is one of the foremost issues in the civil system, recreation, and physical activity. It represents a substantial source of liability for civil system, organizations, and the general public (Goldberg, 2008). Negligence can occur in many different forms, and it is incumbent upon judicial system to be aware of and understand the elements of negligence, in order to limit liability and create a safer environment for the general public (Knapp, 1971).

Negligence can be thought of as carelessness; by definition, it does not involve intent to injure or cause harm. Negligence can take many different forms, including negligent conduct, negligent supervision, negligent instruction, negligent hiring, and negligent retention. Negligence may either be an act of omission or commission, meaning that it can occur when a person does something they should not have done or fails to do something they should have done. This principle highlights 'Duty of Care' principle by the Law Courts (Sarnoff, 1996).

Tort Reforms

In the U.S., if a citizen believes that he or she has been wronged, whether by a person or a company, that citizen has a right to sue for compensation. Personal-injury lawsuits, or "torts," include product-liability, medical-malpractice and sexual-harassment cases. According to the National Center for State Courts, torts make up about 9% of the 14 million civil cases filed each year in the U.S (Sarnoff, 1996).

Those who want to reform laws regarding torts do not necessarily oppose the current system's treatment of compensatory damages. They say, however, that the million-dollar punitive-damage awards often granted in personal-injury cases are unfair to businesses, which are the object of most tort lawsuits (Underhill 1905). Punitive damages are moneys awarded to punish negligent conduct and deter future behavior that can cause harm to others, while compensatory damages are moneys awarded to reimburse the plaintiff for actual financial losses, such as medical costs or lost wages. Business interests contend that the virtually unrestricted right to bring personal-injury lawsuits has clogged the court system and hurt ...