What's Tort

[Didacus]

Tort can be seen as a form of contract without official agreement between the two parties (IE, without written contract).

A case of tort occurs when an underlying responsibility or due dilligence (to a customer or towards the public) is underscored be present. Using an example from above; the waitresse is expected to use due dilligence in serving coffee, such a dilligence is present even though there exits no explicit contract between the waitress and customer and if she fails in her duties of dilligence then she can be held liable for damages incured.



The conditions that must be present to build a case of tort are (in Canadien law, and most likely matching those of American law in general);

1) defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care (be careful serving the coffee)
2) the defendant breached that duty with their respective conduct (maybe the waitress was trying to handle 15 cups at a time which is unreasonable and unsafe?)
3)the defendan'ts conduct caused the injury to the plaintiff (it can be demosntrated the burns was incurred by the spilt coffee?)


The key to most court cases in tort relies in 2) - proving that the defendant was negligant. IE; if the waitress was pushed by another customer and spilt the coffee, then the waitress was no negligent, but if if can be demonstrated by witness account that the waitress was intoxicated and thus not fully in command of her faculties, the court may see this as negligent.

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
thank you didacus!

[Didacus]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1929603' date='Jul 23 2009, 02:37 PM']+J.M.J.+
thank you didacus! [/quote]




I once sued someone in msall claims court, and he actually got a lawyer to represent his interest at our pre-court negotiations. I had pleaded as a plaintiff both under contract law and tort.

When his lawyer told me I had no chance of proving the existance of contract, I replied that I didn't care 'cause I was also suing under tort. His lawyer turned white and flipped through the papers. The court reprentative then said 'he's right, didn't you read his complaint'.

She asked for a recess and we settled soon after.

I can honestly say I almost made a lawyer cry.

[size=1][i](the moral of the story for the lawyer was; don't mess with an engineer, you're only going to get hurt)[/i][/size]

[CatherineM]

Two stories illustrating points made above. I separated my shoulder moving a desk in my office I shouldn't have tried by myself. I'm on the X-ray table looking up at the machine nervously. One of my mom's friends had been involved with a freak accident the month before where the machine came loose and crushed her on the table. I'm obsessing over every screw in the ceiling mount, and wondering what is taking them so long. They will often leave you there until they develop the film in case it doesn't turn out. I heard someone else come into the room behind my head, and she walked into the booth and said to the technician, "take two sets, she's a lawyer." I guess my insurance paid for the second unnecessary set.

One of my law school classmates worked in Alabama. She had to drive all the way to Tennessee to find and OB/GYN who would take her as a patient. In Florida at one time there was only one neurosurgeon in the whole state because they all left their practices because they couldn't afford the $200,000/year malpractice insurance. Most retrained as plastic surgeons. Eventually they got some foreign doctors in who practiced without insurance. They basically didn't own anything in their name, so if someone sued, they couldn't collect. I'm not sure I'd like going to a doctor who knew he could do pretty much anything without getting into trouble, except maybe with the medical association. The highest rates are for neurosurgeons, OB/GYN's and anesthesiologists.

[VoTeckam]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1929613' date='Jul 23 2009, 03:49 PM']The highest rates are for neurosurgeons, OB/GYN's and anesthesiologists.[/quote]


Yep. My cousin was top in his class in medical school and he was going to an OB but decided against it because of how much insurance he would need. He ended up being a cardiologist (which he says turned out well because now he doesn't have to worry about the crazy hours of an OB).