negligent torts

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Unintentional Torts: Negligence Dan Carew and Ryan Ward

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Page 1: Negligent Torts

Unintentional Torts: Negligence

Dan Carew and Ryan Ward

Page 2: Negligent Torts

Do Now: Balthazar is using headphones to listen to his Mp3

player while driving. He doesn’t like the song he is listening to (probably “Black & Yellow”) and looks away from the road to select a better song. He doesn’t see the car in front of him stop and crashes into it. The woman in the car that he hits suffers a broken leg and a concussion.

Did he do anything wrong? What should he have done differently?

Page 3: Negligent Torts

C’mon, what’s up with those black rims!?

Page 4: Negligent Torts

What is negligence? Negligence can be defined as a failure

to use reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury to another.

Page 5: Negligent Torts

In order to show that someone has acted negligently, you have to prove

four elements:

Duty

Breach

Causation

Damages

Page 6: Negligent Torts

Duty or Legal Obligation The defendant had a legal duty or legal

obligation to exercise due care to the plaintiff.

Due care is the amount of care that a reasonable person would exercise under similar circumstances.

Page 7: Negligent Torts

The Reasonable Person A reasonable person would consider

(1) the burden of taking precautions; (2) the likelihood of harm; and (3) the seriousness of the harm.

Page 8: Negligent Torts

Breach The defendant’s conduct violated that duty

because: His or her conduct fell short of the standard of care. Or, in other words, he or she did not act like a

reasonable person would have.

Page 9: Negligent Torts

Cause Cause In Fact: The breach actually

caused an injury. Can you trace the injury back to the

defendant’s actions? Proximate Cause: The connection

between the breach and the injury was foreseeable and not too remote. Could the defendant have foreseen or guessed

that his or her actions would cause an injury?

Page 10: Negligent Torts

Damages

The plaintiff suffered actual damages (medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.).

Page 11: Negligent Torts

Yolanda and Her Aggressive Puppy

Yolanda’s dog Lucy is very aggressive and has bitten people in the past. One day she takes Lucy to the park and let’s her run free. Lucy runs around the corner and bites Aaron’s leg while he’s shooting hoops. Aaron is rushed to the hospital where he learns that he will need to stay overnight and have surgery. His medical bills reach $15,000 and he had to miss a week of work while his leg healed. The doctor said he’ll never have full use of his leg.

Page 12: Negligent Torts

Analyzing the Case Did Yolanda have a legal obligation? Did she breach that duty? Did her breach actually cause

Aaron’s injury? Could she have foreseen that Lucy

would bite someone like Aaron? Are there damages in this case?

Page 13: Negligent Torts

Kramer's Coffee Burn Fiasco !

While watching the videos, think about whether all of the elements of negligence are present.

Page 14: Negligent Torts

The Elements of NegligenceRemember: All Four Elements Need

to be Proved!

Duty

Breach

Causation

Damages

Page 15: Negligent Torts

Was Java City Negligent? What would

Kramer argue? Can he prove all

of the elements?

What would Java City argue in its defense?

What is their best argument?

What does the judge need to consider?What if Kramer only showed 3 of the 4 elements?

Page 16: Negligent Torts

Liebeck v. McDonalds

In 1994, a 79-year-old woman bought a cup of coffee from the drive thru window at McDonalds. She put the cup between her knees and tried to open the lid to add cream and sugar. The coffee spilled and caused second and third degree burns to over 16% of her body. She spent 8 days in the hospital and had to undergo very painful skin graft operations. A jury found that McDonalds was liable, and awarded her $160,000 in damages.

Page 17: Negligent Torts

The Radio Station Disaster Break into your groups and in your

assigned roles, discuss the Radio Station hypothetical.

Page 18: Negligent Torts

The Ruling How did the judges

rule? Was the radio station

negligent or not?