Negligent Torts Proximate Causation, Duty of Care Essay

Negligent Torts

Proximate Causation, Duty of Care and "But for"

According to Bjorklun (1999), the largest amount of litigation in the area of personal injury consists of unintentional torts. The definition provided by Black's Law Dictionary indicates that a tort in general is "a private or civil wrong or injury including action for bad faith breach of contract for which the court will provide a remedy in the form of an action for damages" (1999, p. 1489). As Bjorklun emphasizes, though, "Not every unintentional act that results in an injury to another person or in damage to property is a tort. In day-to-day living, an individual engages in numerous activities that involve varying degrees of risk of injury to another. It is only those acts that are negligent that form the basis for a tort" (1999, p. 82). Therefore, unintentional torts are referred to as "negligent torts" by many legal scholars, professional organizations and practitioners alike (Bjorklun, 1999).In this regard, Black's advises that the tort of negligence "consists of the existence of a legal duty owed the plaintiff by the defendant, breach of the duty, proximate causal relationship between the breach and the plaintiff's injuries, and the damages" (1999, p. 1489). In addition, in order for individuals to successfully be held liable for damages resulting from a negligent tort, plaintiffs must sufficiently prove that the defendants were negligent because "negligence does not exist in the air. One can be negligent in one's actions toward another person only if one owes that person a duty to be careful" (Bjorklun, 1999, p. 82). Therefore, in order to establish negligence, a plaintiff must demonstrate that a defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, that the defendant breached that duty by a negligent….....