Chapter
4
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Section 4.2
Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
What You’ll Learn
How to define negligence (p. 88)
How to explain the elements of
negligence (p. 88)
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
What You’ll Learn
How to define the major defenses to
negligence (p. 91)
How to define strict liability (p. 92)
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Why It’s Important
Because any person is a potential victim
and a perpetrator of negligence,
understanding this vital area of tort law will
help you protect yourself legally.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Legal Terms
negligence (p. 88)
strict liability (p. 88)
breach of duty (p. 88)
proximate cause (p. 90)
contributory negligence (p. 91)
comparative negligence (p. 92)
assumption of risk (p. 92)
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section Outline
Unintentional Torts
Negligence
Elements of Negligence
Defenses to Negligence
Strict Liability
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Pre-Learning Question
What do you think an unintentional
tort is?
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Unintentional Torts
A person can commit an unintentional
tort, when he or she acts in a careless
manner that results in an injury to a
person, damage to property, or both.
Negligence and strict liability are
unintentional torts.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
4.2
Section
4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Intentional and Unintentional Torts
Torts
Intentional Torts
Unintentional Torts
When a person commits a
wrong against another and
knows and desires the
consequences of his or her act.
When acting in a careless
manner causes damage or
injury.
Examples
Examples
Assault and Battery
Trespass
False imprisonment
Negligence
Strict liability
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Unintentional Torts
Negligence is an accidental or
unintentional tort resulting because of
the failure to exercise the degree of
care that a reasonable person would
have exercised in the same
circumstances.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Unintentional Torts
Strict liability is the doctrine that
states that people engaged in
ultrahazardous activities will be held
liable, regardless of how careful they
were and regardless of their intent.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Pre-Learning Question
What do you think are the elements of
negligence?
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Negligence
is an accidental or unintentional tort.
is the tort that most often occurs in
society today.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Elements of Negligence
duty of care
breach of duty
proximate cause
actual harm
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Duty of Care
All of us have a duty not to violate
certain rights of others.
The plaintiff must demonstrate that
the defendant owed him or her duty
of care.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Example of Duty of Care
Julia was injured while diving at a
public pool. The injury could have
been avoided if the diving board had a
guardrail. Julia sued the state’s
Department of Health.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Example of Duty of Care
The court ruled the Department of
Health had a duty to the state’s
sanitary code, not a duty to inspect for
safety problems. The Department of
Health had no duty to Julia.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Breach of Duty
Breach of duty is the failure to use
the degree of care that a reasonable
person would exercise in that same
situation.
The words “reasonable person”
must be used when instructing the
jurors.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Define negligence.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
ANSWER
Negligence is an accidental or
unintentional tort and is the tort that
occurs most often in society today.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Proximate Cause
Proximate cause is the legal
connection between unreasonable
conduct and the resulting harm.
Without proximate cause, the result
would not have occurred.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Actual Harm
The essence of any tort suit is a
violation of a duty that results in
injury to the plaintiff.
The plaintiff must have actually
suffered physical injury, property
damage, or financial loss.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Defenses to Negligence
contributory negligence
comparative negligence
assumption of risk
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Contributory Negligence
Behavior by the plaintiff that helps
cause his or her injuries may be
considered contributory negligence.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Comparative Negligence
The negligence of each party is
compared under the doctrine of
comparative negligence, and the
amount of the plaintiff’s recovery is
reduced by the percent of his or her
negligence.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Assumption of Risk
If the defendant can show the plaintiff
knew of the risk involved and still took
the chance of being injured, he or she
may claim assumption of risk.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Pre-Learning Question
Why is strict liability considered an
unintentional tort?
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Strict Liability
Some activities are so dangerous that
the law will apply neither the principles
of negligence nor the rules of
intentional torts to them.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Strict Liability
According to strict liability, if these
activities injure someone or damage
property, the people engaged in the
activities will be held liable, regardless
of how careful they were and
regardless of their intent.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
1. What is negligence?
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
Answer
An accidental or unintentional tort resulting
because of the failure to exercise the
degree of care that a reasonable person
would have exercised in the same
circumstances.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
2. What are the elements of
negligence?
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
Answer
duty of care
breach of duty
proximate cause
actual harm
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
3. What are the major defenses to
negligence?
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
Answer
contributory negligence
comparative negligence
assumption of risk
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
4. What is strict liability?
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Reviewing What You Learned
Answer
The doctrine that states that people
engaged in ultrahazardous activities will be
held liable, regardless of how careful they
were and regardless of their intent.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Critical Thinking Activity
Defenses to Negligence
Which defense to negligence do you feel is
the most effective?
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Critical Thinking Activity Answer
Defenses to Negligence
Answers will vary but should recognize that
which defense is most effective will depend
on the circumstances of the negligence.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Legal Skills in Action
Strict Liability
Historically, some activities that we take for
granted today were originally considered
ultrahazardous. One such activity is the
flying of an airplane.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Legal Skills in Action
Strict Liability
Imagine that you want to change the law
relative to strict liability. Research and write a
report on strict liability relative to airplanes,
and demonstrate how the doctrine became
obsolete in regard to that activity.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Section 4.2 Negligence and Strict Liability
Section 4.2 Assessment
Legal Skills in Action Answer
Strict Liability
Reports will vary but should cite references
to support their findings.
Understanding Business and Personal Law
The Law of Torts
Chapter
4
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Negligence and Strict Liability