Friday 15 February 2008

Tort law is different from the laws of contract, restitution, and the criminal law. Contract law protects the parties involved when expectations arise from promises, restitution prevents unjust enrichment and compensation for wrong doing, and criminal law punishes crimes that are so severe (like murder, rape, fraud) that society has a direct interest in preventing and dealing with them. Note that many wrongs can result in liability to both the state (as criminal activity and proceedings) and to the victims (as torts).
Tort law serves to protect an individual’s interest in their bodily security, tangible property, financial resources, or reputation. Interference with one of these interests is usually met by an action for compensation, most usually in the form of unliquidated damages. The law of torts aims to restore the injured individual to the position they were in before the tort was committed (the expectation or rightful position principle).

Read more at http://www.lemonshell.com/legal/tort.aspx

Clinical Negligence

Clinical negligence (formerly medical negligence)refers not only to the negligence of doctors but to all the related medical professionals such as nurses, dentists, pharmacists and physiotherapists. The basic litigation required for all these claims is the same; the main difference lies in establishing whether a particular professional duty of care has been breached. There are several functions behind professional malpractice claims including; such claims make professionals more accountable for their actions, the threat of litigation ensures that each profession maintains as high a standard of practice as possible within their area, explanations are provided when procedures go wrong, compensation and/or an apology are given to any ‘wronged’ parties, a degree of retribution is provided to the ‘wronged’ party.

read more at http://www.lemonshell.com/legal/clinicalnegligence.aspx

Tort Law Negligence

The tort of negligence represents, by far the most significant tort. Although, legally speaking, a late developer, negligence has in a space of about seventy years almost developed a stranglehold on the law of civil obligations.Before discussing each of the elements of tort negligence, it should be clear as to exactly what is meant by the term. Certainly the legal meaning of ‘negligence’ is clearly distinguishable from what a layperson might refer to as mere carelessness or recklessness.

read more at http://www.lemonshell.com/legal/tortlawnegligence.aspx