Negligent Tort in Basic Terms, a Tort Essay

Negligent Tort

In basic terms, a tort can be defined as a civil wrong. In this case, it is the victim of wrongful conduct who brings action against the alleged wrongdoer. The alleged wrongdoer in tort law is referred to as the defendant while the claimant or plaintiff is the victim who suffers as a result of the conduct of the defendant. In a way, negligent tort is taken to be the most significant of all torts. In this text, I concern myself with negligent tort.

The Elements of a Negligent Tort

In Stuhmcke's (2001) own words, "negligence is a tort which determines legal liability for careless actions or inactions which cause injury." Hence effectively, its occurrence can be said to take place in those instances where an individual causes harm to another individual as a result of his or her failure to take the legally required care. It can be noted that when it comes to negligent tort, several elements exist. These elements which are essential in proving a negligence action include proximate causation, duty of care, breach and harm or damage (Stuhmcke, 2001).

Proximate Causation

According to Statsky (2011), this is a cause which can be considered sufficient in legal terms to impose liability for that which is brought about by an individual's wrongful omission or act. When it comes to proximate cause, there are two main components. These include legal cause and actual cause.While legal cause concerns itself with determining whether the original risk's foreseeable consequences were what occasioned or brought about the loss or harm, the actual cause seeks to determine who (in fact) brought about the loss or harm. Hence to establish legal cause, it must be shown that the original risk brought about by the defendant was what informed the foreseeable consequence i.e. harm. On the other hand, to establish actual cause, it must be shown that the harm was in fact caused by the defendant. According to Statsky (2011), in most cases, once actual cause has been established, it becomes quite easy to establish legal cause.

Duty of care

A duty in this case is essentially taken to be an obligation to adhere to a given standard as provided for in law. According to Statsky (2011), when it comes to negligence cases, the obligation to avoid causing loss or injury as a foreseeable risk by using reasonable care is what is referred to as a duty. Further, it should be noted that when it comes to the duty of reasonable care, there is an embodied standard referred to as due care. Statsky (2011) also notes that in most negligence cases, there is a general rule of duty which calls for the identification of loss or injury as foreseeable risks.

Breach of Duty

As an element of negligent tort, breach of duty arises in an instance.....