Street Law (9th ed.) Chapter 19: Negligence

elements of negligence

1) duty 2)breach of duty 3) causation 4) damages

assumption of risk

a legal defense to a negligence tort, whereby the plaintiff is considered to have voluntarily accepted a known risk of danger

contributory negligence

a legal defense to negligence in which it is determined that the plaintiff and the defendant share the fault for a negligence tort. In some states, this means that, if proven, the plaintiff cannot recover damages.

duty

a legal obligation

attractive nuisance

doctrine that says if a person keeps something on his or her premises that is likely to attract children, that person must take reasonable steps to protect children against dangers the condition might cause.

comparative negligence

in a tort suit, a finding that the plaintiff was partly at fault and, therefore, does not deserve full compensation for his or her injuries. For example, if an accident was 40 percent the plaintiff's fault, the damages are reduced by 40 percent. California follows comparative negligence, not contributory.

proximate cause

in negligence law, this concept limits damages the defendant must pay to only those harms that are reasonably predictable consequences of the defendant's wrongful acts.

cause in fact

one of the elements a plaintiff must prove in order to establish causation in a negligence suit. It means that if the harm would not have occurred without the wrongful act, the act is the cause in fact.

elements

the conditions that make an act unlawful

negligence

the failure to exercise a reasonable amount of care in either doing or not doing something, resulting in harm or injury to another person

damages

the injuries or losses suffered by one person dues to the fault of another

causation

the reason an event occurs; that which produces an effect. One of the four elements that must be proven in a negligence case, causation is subdivided into cause in fact and proximate cause.

breach

the violation of a law, duty, or other form of obligation, including obligations formed through contracts or warranties, either by engaging in an action or failing to act