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The commercials are seemingly everywhere on television. Lawyers promising money for "personal injury" claims, guaranteeing no fees until the injured party gets paid. But what is a personal injury? It is one of the largest areas of civil law and can involve everyone from insurance companies to large corporations. And an injury in the... more »
A civil lawyer, by definition, is a lawyer who specializes in civil law. This may seem painfully elementary, but given the number of legal specializations, it can be confusing. Criminal lawyers are generally the type of lawyers the public is most familiar with--they are the lawyers commonly portrayed on television and in films. The... more »
Claims adjusters working for insurance companies typically determine the percentage of fault for each party involved in an accident. Adjusters use their companies' actuary tables, which list the amount of payment or denial on each claim. Actuary tables vary from company to company and are subject to interpretation from adjusters.... more »
Upon entering the law library, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with seemingly endless rows of legal research and case study. Take heart-- law libraries are always set up on a plan, even if that plan isn’t initially apparent. Armed with the desire to find at least one case that supports your research question, follow a set plan of attack... more »
French and international students interested in practicing law in France have to learn about the peculiarities of the country's educational system. France, like other European countries, educates its youth on a limited number of topics through secondary school instead of the interdisciplinary course offered in the United States.... more »
Slander occurs when a defamatory statement is verbally made regarding a person (to at least a third person) and causes injury to that person's... more »
Whether or not you are bringing suit for libel or defending yourself against a libel suit, it is imperative that you gather all necessary evidence... more »
If you're tired of taking the moral high road and getting nowhere and would like to fast-track your way to the life of instant gratification and... more »
The old adage of "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" is more than just ethical advice. Making defamatory statements about... more »
The concept of a civil litigation attorney comes from English Common Law and was later brought over and adopted in the United States. A civil... more »
Tort law is a body of law that addresses, and provides remedies for, civil wrongs not arising out of contractual obligations."Tort" is the Norman word for a "wrong." As traditionally used, this kind of wrong is distinct from a contractual or criminal wrong. See: G. Edward White, Tort Law in America: An Intellectual History, (2003) p. xxiii. A person who suffers legal damages may be able to use tort law to receive compensation from someone who is legally responsible, or liable, for those injuries. Generally speaking, tort law defines what constitutes a legal injury and establishes the circumstances under which one person may be held liable for anothers injury. Torts cover intentional acts and accidents (negligent acts). In contrast to criminal law (in which the offense is against the State and the State is the plaintiff), in tort law, the offense is against a person and that person is the plaintiff.
For instance, Alice throws a ball and accidentally hits Brenda in the eye. Brenda may sue Alice for losses occasioned by the accident (e.g., costs of medical treatment, lost income during time off work, and pain and suffering). Whether or not Brenda wins her suit depends on if she can prove Alice engaged in tortious conduct. Here, Brenda would attempt to prove Alice had a duty and failed to exercise the standard of care which a reasonable person would render in throwing the ball.
One of the main topics of the substance of tort law is determining the standard of care—a legal phrase that means distinguishing between when conduct is or is not tortious. Put another way, the big issue is whether a person suffers the loss from his own injury, or whether it gets transferred to someone else.
Returning to the example above, if Alice threw the ball at Brenda purposely, Brenda could sue for the intentional tort of battery (and the action might also, separately, be a crime against the State). If it was an accident, Brenda must prove negligence. To do this, Brend read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort
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