DAY 78 (June 3) Small Claims Court and Civil Law Intro.

We started our study of Civil Law with a look at Small Claims court - a short video and discussion based on this handout: Setting the Stage for Small Claims Court.

Then I took everyone through and Introduction to Torts and Negligence and here are the highlights:

Torts/Personal Injury – Overview

The word “Tort” comes from the French world for “Wrong.”  The primary aim of tort law is to provide relief for damages incurred and deter others from committing the same harms.
 
Torts are civil wrongs that result in an injury or harm and constitute the basis for a claim and lawsuit by the injured party.
 
The types of damages the injured party may recover are:

• loss of earning capacity
• pain and suffering
• reasonable medical expenses

 
Specific torts include acts such as:

• Trespass
• Assault
• Battery
• Negligence
• Producing faulty products
• Intentional infliction of emotional distress
• Defamation of character

 
Tort law determines when the person who causes the harm must pay compensation to the person who suffers it.  Personal injury law encompasses all types of physical and psychological injuries such as injuries arising from:

• motor vehicle accidents
• occupier's liability claims
• public liability claims
• negligence of school boards
• product liability claims
• catastrophic loss claims such as accidents resulting in paraplegia.

 
The Tort of Negligence is when harm occurs as a result of an individual, who is under a duty, fails to meet a standard of care imposed by that duty through an act or omission.
 
In general terms, Intentional Torts are any intentional acts that are reasonably foreseeable to cause harm to an individual and do so.
 
 

ELEMENTS OF THE TORT OF NEGLIGENCE

 1. NEGLIGENCE

Insufficient care; what a reasonable person should have done to protect the plaintiff

2. CAUSATION

Negligence must in fact be a cause of the damages complained of

3. DAMAGES

Actual loss or damage of a type recognized by law (usually a monetary loss)

4. DUTY OF CARE

An obligation by defendant to exercise sufficient care towards the plaintiff

5. STANDARD OF CARE

It is appropriate to hold the defendant liable based upon their expected standard of care owed to the plaintiff

 

ELEMENTS OF AN INTENTIONAL TORT

 

1.  INTENTIONAL TORT

The action resulting in the harm was intentional or voluntary

2. INJURY

The action must have caused harm or injury to the plaintiff

3. CAUSATION

The Tort was in fact the cause of the harm or injury

4. DAMAGES

The injury caused harm that can be rectified by (usually) a monetary payment to return the plaintiff to their position before the injury.