chapter 8: civil liability Flashcards
civil liability
people must be held accountable or liable for their actions and for the consequences of their actions
vicarious liability
person may be held responsible for injuries cause to others even though they may not have caused the damage
when can vicarious liability take place?
when the damage or injury is cause by people who are under their control or things under their control
when is one civilly liable?
when they cause damages and there is no contract between the people
ex: crashing on someone with a car
when is someone found personally liable
person must be endowed with reason
or
person is at fault and as a result of this fault, real damages were caused to another person
endowed with reason
person must be capable of discerning right from wrong
person has a sufficient level of intelligence and be of an age old enough to appreciate the consequences of their actions
actions of force majeur (superior force)
person not endowed with reason
they cannot tell right from wrong
when can we make exceptions to being endowed with reason?
when defendant was under the influence of drugs or alcohol
–> can still be held liable for damages
how do we determine a person being at fault?
compare with the actions of a person that is reasonably prudent and diligent within the context of the case at hand
when is a person at fault?
when a person that is reasonably prudent and diligent within the context of the case at hand would not have done the actions that resulted in damages
being held solidarity liable
when more than one person have together taken part in a wrongful act that caused injury to a third party
types of damages
bodily
moral
material
present or future
punitive damages
damages caused intentionally
–> court punishes these in a way to teach a lesson
all the elements needed for a person to be deemed liable
conditions
–> endowed with reason
–> at fault
damages
causal link
the defendant’s tools it could use to lower their sentence or or to not have any
victim’s actions
Good Samaritan
superior force
another person made it worse
improper use
defendant’s use of victim’s actions
victim is at fault for his own damages
contributory negligence
defendant is at fault for victim’s damages, but so is the victim
how can a person legally limit future damages?
- contractual waiver
- displaying notice to limit liability like in bars
- if the victim aggravates his damage?
defendant being a Good Samaritan
damages caused in the process of helping others
ex: injuring someone when they were drowning
defendant using superior force as defense
damages caused were not within the control
another person made it worse
other person must be mostly or totally responsible
defendant using improper use as defense
object that cause damage was not properly used
what are the three conditions for the parents to be held responsible?
- child must be a minor
- the parent must have personal authority over the child
- damages must be the result of an act or fault of the minor
the three conditions for that a legal tutor or someone responsible of children be held liable?
- parents delegated authority
- child must be a minor
- damages must be the result of an act or fault of the minor
liability of employees
organizations can save themselves if its the employee that really messes up
- employee was at fault
- took place during their employment
- control over the employee by employer
liability for damage do to ruin of an immovable
owner of an immovable may be held responsible for any damages caused by its partial or total ruin
when can a safety defect causing liability occur?
- a product may cause damages stemming from being improperly manufactured
- design of product itself may lead to damages when being used
- safety defect could be the result of improperly preserved or presented products
- damages due to improper use as a result of lack of information or indications of safety precautions on how the product should be handled
if an object shows to have safety defect, who can be liable?
manufacturer
distributors
wholesaler or retailer of object
when can liability of manufacturer, distributors and seller for safety defects in movables be avoided?
if it can be proven that the victim knew of the safety defect, bought it, and used the item in spite of this knowledge
by claiming damages were due to superior force
claiming item was used improperly by victim
responsibility for acts of a thing
a victim of damages caused by a thing, movable or immovable, may sue those persons who have the thing under their custody
person sued does not necessarily have to be the owner of the thing
