Risk Management “101”
Terminology
Presented for
Wisconsin 4-H Youth
Development Staff
Youth Emphasis
April 2005
Potential Liability Risks
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Negligence
Failure to use that degree of care which an
ordinary person of reasonable prudence would
use under the given or similar circumstances. A
person may be negligent by acts of omission or
commission or both.
Assault and battery
The threat to use force upon another and the
carrying out of the threat.
False arrest and imprisonment
False arrest is an arrest not justifiable under
law.
Imprisonment is to put in or as if in prison;
confine.
Invasion of privacy
To encroach or intrude upon personal
information or space of an individual that is not
open to public life; violate.
Potential Liability Risks
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Defamation
Defamation is a legal action sounding in
tort based on an intentional or reckless
public false statement that injures another
person's reputation. Libel and slander are
types of defamation.
Libel
A written statement about someone which
is personally injurious to that individual.
Slander
A spoken statement about someone which
is personally injurious to the individual.
Violation of constitutional rights
To break, intentionally or unintentionally,
the rights guaranteed to individuals by the
United States constitution.
Risk Management Strategy
Risk Management Techniques
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Reduce
To lessen in extent, amount, number, degree, or
price. To gain control of.
An organization concerned about the lack of
male and female chaperones for an overnight
camping trip may decide to host a day-long hike
and picnic instead.
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Avoid
Taking steps to remove a hazard, engage in an
alternative activity, or otherwise end a specific
exposure.
An organization concerned about the lack of
male and female chaperones for an overnight
camping trip may decide to cancel/postpone the
trip.
Risk Management Strategy
Risk Management Techniques
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Transfer
Shifting all or part of a risk to another party.
Insurance is the most common method of risk
transfer, but other devices, such as hold
harmless agreements, also transfer risk.
An organization concerned about the lack of
male and female chaperones for an overnight
camping trip may decide to require that all the
parents chaperone the trip.
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Assume
To take upon oneself; undertake.
An organization concerned about the lack of
male and female chaperones for an overnight
camping trip may decide that all the agents of
the organization chaperone the trip.
Definitions
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Waiver
A rider waiving (excluding) liability for a
stated cause of injury or sickness.
A provision or rider agreeing to waive
premium payments during a period of
disability of the insured.
The act of giving up or surrendering a right
or privilege that is known to exist.
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Disclaimers
A repudiation or denial of responsibility or
connection. A renunciation of one’s right or
claim.
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Incorporation
To form into or organized and maintained
as a legal business corporation.
Definitions
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Bonding
An insurance contract in which an agency
guarantees payment to an employer in the
event of unforeseen financial loss through
the actions of an employee.
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Tort
A private wrong, independent of contract
and committed against an individual, which
gives rise to a legal liability and is
adjudicated in a civil court. A tort can be
either intentional or unintentional, and it is
mainly against liability for unintentional
torts that one buys liability insurance.
Information Prepared by:
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Dave Pulda, Risk Manager,
UW System Office of Safety and
Loss Prevention
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Debbie Beich, Risk
Management Specialist,
UW System Office of Safety and
Loss Prevention