Discuss how liability for negligence can arise in law in relation to construction activity
Negligence in law can be defined as “a failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances”. Regarding the construction industry it is of importance to understand the roles of the many skilled professionals involved, such as the architects, quantity surveyors, engineers, project managers etc. Each of these professions have a duty of skill and care, however no matter how cautious or adroit each professional is, there is always the possibility and risk of something going wrong meaning they may be liable to their clients and third parties for damage and loss through negligence. Establishing who’s at fault and to what extent can be a difficult task as claiming negligence against one profession will in turn involve consideration of the potential negligence of anyone else who may have been implicated.
The purpose and use of tort
Tort can be seen when a wrongful act, whether intentional or unintentional, which causes injury and can be remedied at civil law, usually through awarding damages. The Law of Tort enforces a legal obligation on a party demanding them to take all care while performing any acts which could foreseeably harm others. In regards to the construction industry, the case of Bryan and Maloney is quite an iconic event when it comes to tort being remedied in the court of law. The high court held that a
Tort law enables citizens to seek reimbursement for loss and or suffering from conduct that would be deemed dangerous or unreasonable of others (3). Tort law is non criminal and is dealt with in our civil judicial system. The categories of Tort Law include intentional tort, negligence and strict liability.
Our text defines a tort as “a civil wrong” and negligence as “a tort, a civil or personal wrong” (Pozgar, 2012). Negligence as it is related to healthcare is an unintentional commission or omission of an act that a reasonably prudent person or organization would or would not do under normal circumstances. Not following a recognized standard of care could be considered negligence. The case I have chosen to study is one from the Circuit Court of Baltimore City Maryland and is that of Enso Martinez a minor by and through his parent (Rebecca Fielding) vs The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore Maryland July 2013. I would describe this as a landmark, “David vs Goliath” case
Torts are classified as civil wrongs that are caused by a parties intentional or unintentional harm. Tort law is design to compensate the innocent party or force the guilty party to start or stop doing something.
Engineers, contractors, and other businesses must be mindful of and knowledgeable of their legal obligations when performing their occupation or supplying a product. Negligence in the design or construction of a product that results in damage or bodily harm, or could result in damage or bodily harm, can result in liability for economic loss under Canadian Tort law. Engineers, architects, and contractors need to be respectful of their duty of care to ensure their product is precisely produced with no danger of negligence.
The Plaintiff attempted to cross three lanes of oncoming traffic to enter a gas station. The defendants' driver was speeding and ran a yellow light then struck the plaintiffs' car.
Business Law-Law Business and Society states that torts are, “civil wrongs not arising from contracts.”(McAdams. P. 278) Torts involve a breach of duty resulting in loss and or injury. Negligence is defined as, “situations in which harm is caused accidently, and no intent is present.” (McAdams. p.279)
Findings from a 2012 Study of Medical Negligence Claiming in Scotland revealed that patient support and advice groups find that when a complaint is made to the NHS in relation to a medical injury a defensive attitude tends to be adopted in response to such complaints. According to Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, Chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, this defensive attitude is what leads to claims being raised against the NHS. He stated that the current clinical negligence regime is what prompts defensiveness within the NHS and that this problem will persist as long as the fear of litigation and stigma of settlement remains. In the literature reviewed there seems to be a general consensus that the requirement for the claimant
1) Introduction a) Definition – A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, for which the law provides a remedy. A person who breaches a tort duty (i.e., a duty to act in a manner that will not injure another person) has committed a tort and may be
A tort is wrongful interference against a person or property, other than breaches of contract, for which the courts can rectify through legal action. The reform effort is aimed at reducing the number of unnecessary lawsuits that burden the court system while still allowing injured parties compensation when they’ve been wronged. This latest effort at tort reform has given rise to the same spirited rhetoric that might be found in a courtroom.
In the United States justice system, a tort is best defined as an injury or loss that was committed deliberately or negligently by a single person or an entity (Crane). The history of tort law can be traced back to the initial trespass of property or person, but it was not until the 18th century that the distinction between intentional and unintentional acts was made (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia). In recent years, tort law has become the center of scrutiny through the increase in tort costs, insurance liability costs, and the number of frivolous lawsuits made. This scrutiny has lead to the creation of tort reform. Tort reform is a movement to reshape the way consumers can access the courts by restricting their right to sue and
Torts of negligence are breaches of duty that results to injury to another person to whom the duty breached is owed. Like all other torts, the requirements for this are duty, breach of duty by the defendant, causation and injury(Stuhmcke and Corporation.E 2001). However, this form of tort differs from intentional tort as regards the manner the duty is breached. In torts of negligence, duties are breached by negligence and not by intent. Negligence is conduct that falls below the standard of care established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm(Stuhmcke and Corporation.E 2001). The standard measure of negligence is the universal reasonable person standard. The assumption in this case is that a reasonable
Presented are four separate cases that have been argued and settled in a court of law. Each of these cases represent a different kind of tort, a tort is a civil wrong or wrongful act, which can be either intentional or accidental, from which injury occurs to another (Hill & Hill n.d.). The torts are as listed, intentional, criminal, negligence, and liability as presented in the four researched cases.
The main idea of the law of negligence is to ensure that people exercise reasonable care when they act by measuring the potential harm that may foreseeably cause harm to other people. Negligence is the principal trigger for liability to ascend in matters that deal with the loss of property of personal injury. Therefore, a person cannot be liable for something unless they have been found negligent or have contributed to the loss of property or injury to the plaintiff (Stuhmcke, 2005). There is more to
Tort is defined as “a civil wrong which causes an injury, for which a victim may seek damage, typically in the form of money damages, against the alleged wrongdoer (Ottenwess, D., Lamberti, Ottenwess, S., & Dresevic, 2010, p. 30).” Under the Tort Law, three legal theories of lawsuits are governed: negligence, strict liability, and intentional torts. The tort law serves three purposes such as restriction of misconduct, injury
An example from the article can be seen from the surrounding the property labelling it an accident waiting to happen. If someone was to get hurt on this property, tort law would provide the remedy to the injustice which is lack of security and carelessness in leaving the area unsafe. Tort law would allow for compensation to occur.