Chapter 7

Proximate Cause

Legal cause exists when the connection between an act and an injury is strong enough to justify imposing liability.

Duty of Care

The duty of all persons, as established by tort law, to exercise a reasonable amount of care in their dealings with others. failure to exercise due care, which is normally determined by the "reasonable person standard," constitutes the tort of negligence.

Negligence

The failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances.

Reasonable person standards

The standards of behavior expected of a hypothetical " reasonable person." the standard against which negligence is measured and that must be observed to avoid liability for negligence.

Business Invitee

Those people, such as customers or clients, who are invited onto business premises by the owner of those premises for business purposes.

Strict liability

liability regardless of fault. In tort law strict liability may be imposed on defendants in cases involving abnormally dangerous activities, dangerous activities, dangerous animals, or defective products.

Malpractice

professional misconduct or the failure to exercise the requisite degree of skill as a professional. Negligence- the failure to exercise due care- on an attorney, is commonly referred to as malpractice.

Assumption of Risk

A defense against negligence that can be used when the plaintiff was aware of a danger and voluntarily assumed the risk of injury from that danger.

Res ipsa Loquitur

A doctrine under which negligence may be inferred simply because an event occurred, if it is the type of event that would not occur in the absence of negligence. Literally, the term means " the facts speak for themselves."

Dram Shop Act

A state statute that imposes liability on the owners of bars and taverns, as well as those who serve alcoholic drinks to the public, for injuries resulting from accidents caused by intoxicated persons when the sellers or servers of alcoholic drinks contributed to the intoxication.

Good Samaritan Statute

A state statute that provides that persons who rescue or provide emergency services to others in peril-unless they do so recklessly, thus causing further harm- cannot be sued for negligence.

Comparative Negligence

A theory in tort law under which the liability for injuries resulting from negligent acts is shared by all parties who were negligent( including the injured party), on the basis of each person's proportionate negligence.

Contributory Negligence

A theory in tort law, under which a complaining party's own negligence contributed to or caused his or her injuries. contributory negligence is an absolute bar to recovery in a minority or jurisdictions.

Negligence per se

An act ( or failure to act) in violation of a statutory requirement.

Causation in Fact

An act or omission without( "but for") which an event would not have occurred.

Superseding Cause

An intervening force or event that breaks the connection between a wrongful act and an injury to another; in negligence law, a defense to liability.