Tort Liability of School Boards, Officers and Employees : Tort Liability of School Boards, Officers and Employees Personal Tort Liability
Institutional Tort Liability
Personal Liability for violations of Federal Constitutional Rights
TORT DEFINED : TORT DEFINED A private or civil wrong or injury other than a breach of contract for which a court will provide a remedy in the form of monetary damages.
TORT DEFINED : TORT DEFINED A violation of a duty imposed by common-law or statutory law upon a person in a certain relationship with the injured party.
TORT : TORT The purpose of an action in tort is to compensate the injured for injury he or she has suffered due to the act or omission of the wrongdoer or tortfeasor.
NEGLIGENCE : NEGLIGENCE Negligence is generally the omission or failure to do something that a reasonable person would do.
Negligence is the failure to use such care as a reasonable prudent and careful person would use under similar circumstances.
NEGLIGENCE DEFINED : NEGLIGENCE DEFINED Negligence is conduct which falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. It does not include conduct recklessly disregardful of an interest in others.
NEGLIGENCE : NEGLIGENCE Negligence occurs when a person commits an act or omission outside the bounds of what a reasonable person would do or not do under the circumstances
Negligence is the failure to use such care as a reasonable, prudent and careful person would use under similar circumstances
NEGLIGENCE : NEGLIGENCE In order to prove that a defendant is liable for negligence either by act or omission, the plaintiff must show the following:
1. The existence of a duty of care owed by the defendant to plaintiff; a duty to conform to a specific standard of conduce
NEGLIGENCE : NEGLIGENCE 2. Breach of that duty by the defendant; failure to conform to the standard required;
3. Actual and proximate cause of plaintiff’s injury;
4. Actual injury or damage to plaintiff’s person or property.
DUTY OF CARE OWED : DUTY OF CARE OWED Defendant to plaintiff: Basic reasonable person standard of care under the circumstances; for example education professionals to children).
THE STANDARD OF CARE REQUIRED : THE STANDARD OF CARE REQUIRED Once it is determined that a defendant owes a duty of care, the next question becomes what exactly is the duty of care owed in this situation ?
The basic standard of care is an objective one. Generally there is a legal duty to act as an ordinary prudent and reasonable man under similar circumstances.
CAUSATION : CAUSATION Actual cause (cause-in-fact)
Proximate cause (forseeability).
NEGLIGENCE : NEGLIGENCE When these four elements have been pleaded and proven, the injured party will be able to obtain compensation for the damages suffered, absent a successful defense by the defendant.
Torts Defenses to Negligence : Torts Defenses to Negligence Contributory negligence
Comparative negligence
Assumption of risk