Damages, Injunctions, and Negligence Law

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms related to damages, injunctions, and negligence law from the lecture notes.

Special (Specific) Damages

Monetary compensation for measurable financial losses such as medical bills, lost income, or property damage.

General Damages

Compensation for non-monetary losses that are difficult to quantify, e.g., pain and suffering, emotional distress, or loss of enjoyment of life.

Aggravated Damages

Additional compensation awarded for humiliation or distress caused by a defendant’s particularly insulting or high-handed conduct.

Negligence

A legal claim arising when a duty of care is breached, causing damage or loss to another party.

Elements of Negligence

Duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages—all four must be proven for a negligence claim to succeed.

Statute Law

Written laws enacted by a legislative body that establish rights, duties, and limitations.

Common Law

Judge-made law developed through court decisions, valued for its consistency, predictability, and adaptability.

Liability

Legal responsibility for one's acts or omissions

Duty of care

a legal obligation to act in the best interest of others, preventing harm by ensuring reasonable care in actions and decisions.

Breach of Duty

Failure to meet the required standard of care owed to another, constituting one element of negligence.

Causation

The process of establishing a direct link between one party's actions and the harm suffered by another, necessary to prove negligence.

Loss

Refers to the damages or injuries incurred by an individual due to another's negligence, impacting their rights or property.

Limitation

Refers to the legal time constraints within which a party must bring a claim, often defined by statute.

Tort

A civil wrong that causes harm or loss to another party, leading to legal liability.

Vicarious liability

A doctrine under which an employer or principal is held liable for the negligent actions of an employee or agent, when such actions occur within the scope of their employment or duties.

Contributory Negligence

A legal doctrine that prevents a party from recovering damages if they are found to be even slightly at fault for their own injury or loss.

Foreseeability

The ability to predict the potential consequences or harm that could result from a certain action or event.

Voluntary assumption of risk

A legal doctrine that establishes that a person may not recover for injuries sustained when they voluntarily expose themselves to known risks associated with an activity.

Remedies

Legal actions taken to enforce a right or redress a wrong, typically through damages or injunctions.

Elements of defamation

1. The matter was defamatory

2. The matter was false

3. The matter is about the plaintiff

4. The matter has been published to the third party

5. The matter has caused, or is likely to cause serious harm to the plaintiffs reputation.

Neighbour principle

A legal concept establishing that individuals owe a duty of care to those affected by their actions, ensuring they avoid foreseeable harm.

Impacts breach to a party has

Loss of contractual rights, damages, termination of contratcs, injuctions, reputational harm, legal costs

Statute and Common law

Statute law: Influences development in common law, sets boundaries.

Common law: Uses reasoning analogically to guide common law.

Establish Liability

Duty of Care, Breach of Duty, Causation and Damages

Rights protected by law

Contractual law, Property rights, compensation rights, rights to reputation, privacy and to sue.

Two areas of Civil law

Contract law: Governs legally binding agreements between parties. Offer and Acceptance, Causation, Breach of Contract and Remedies.

Tort law: Addresses civil wrongs that cause harm or loss. Duty of care, Breach of care (Negligence) , Causation and Damages.

Possible plaintiffs in Civil dispute

Aggravated party: Legal rights infringed

Other victims: Indirectly affected (family members)

Insurers, Businesses and Government

Possible defences in Civil dispute

Wrongdoer: Alleged to have cause harm/loss

Employers: Liable under vicarious liability for acts of employees

Insurers, Persons involved in wrongdoing, companies.

Class action / representative proceedings

Legal procedure where a group of people with similar claims against the same defendant can be determined in a single court case.