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Hi, everybody.

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Welcome to Module 5.

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In this module, we shift from contracts

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and intentional torts to the
basic principles of negligence.

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We also talk about strict
liability and vicarious liability.

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The book will focus on the
concepts of duty breach

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injury causation, and
explains the principles

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of vicarious liability

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and applies these to
healthcare organizations.

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As we started discussing last
week, tort law is a branch

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of civil law that deals with
liability for individuals

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for wrongs committed against others.

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The elements of tort law
typically include duty of care,

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so that you have to show that
there was an actual duty.

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Sometimes, in some situations,
a reasonable person

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has to take reasonable steps

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to avoid causing harm to others.

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You also have to have
a breach of that duty,

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and so you have to show in a tort case

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that someone failed to
fulfill that duty of care.

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They might do that by acting
negligently or recklessly,

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or as last week, intentionally.

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You also have to show causation
so that there's this breach,

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and then that breach is the causation

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of harm or an injury to the plaintiff.

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You also have to show damages.

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Just because something went
wrong, something bad happened,

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if there's not really damages,

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then courts are usually not going

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to award money in that situation.

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So you really have to show
physical injury, property damage,

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all caused by another
party's breach of duty.

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Now, torts can be either
intentional or accidental,

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and the degree of fault
to establish liability

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can vary depending on the type of tort.

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In a negligence claim,

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the defendant must have
fallen below that standard

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of care required by law.

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In intentional tort, the defendant

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must have intended to cause that harm.

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These are kind of difficult
concepts on paper,

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but this just describes that
process that you would have

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to do in the courtroom.

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If you had a judge or
a jury deciding case,

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these are the type of things
that you need to show to them.

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These elements have to
be proven for a plaintiff

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to succeed in their claim.

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The specific requirements for each element

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can vary depending on jurisdiction

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or the type of tort involved.

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Often that has to do with
state law, so state laws

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can be different

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about how these different
factors work in the courtroom.

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I do wanna just briefly
discuss comparative negligence,

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and you might see that in
the materials this week.

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Comparative negligence
is kind of this idea

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that sometimes you have to
determine the allocation

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of responsibility for damages
in personal injury cases

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where there might have
been fault by both parties.

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The basic idea behind
comparative negligence

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is the liability for damages

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should be apportioned
between parties rather

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than one party paying all the damages

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if maybe even the plaintiff

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who was harmed, if they
were also responsible.

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Another important concept

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that you'll see in the materials this week

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is vicarious liability.

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You might even see that
word respondeat superior.

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This is a legal principle
that holds that one party

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can be responsible for the actions

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of another even if they
really weren't involved.

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This type of liability arises

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when employer is held responsible

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for the acts of the employee

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if the employee was committing
those acts in the course

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or in the scope of the employment.

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You might have thought about this concept

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as you read the prompt for an
as your assignment this week.

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The basis for vicarious liability

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is the employer/employee relationship.

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The employer is held responsible

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because they have the right to control

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what the employee does.

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They direct the work of the employee,

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they benefit from the
work of the employee.

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It's important to note
that vicarious liability

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only applies under certain circumstances

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and is limited in scope of
the employment relationship.

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So for instance, an employer
is not vicariously liable

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for an employee's action committed outside

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of work for actions that are legal

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or outside the scope of
an employee's job duties.

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So there could be instances where not only

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is a nurse negligent
in a hospital setting,

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but the hospital is also negligent

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because they oversee, employ,

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and give direction to that nurse.

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Now, if that nurse does
something negligent at home

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on their own time, then the
hospital really isn't liable

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through this theory for that.

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One other topic you might see
this week is strict liability.

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Strict liability is a legal principle

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that imposes liability on
a party without the need

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to prove fault or negligence.

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So basically, in the court process,

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you don't have to do that part.

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Strict liability means that the individual

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or entity can be held
responsible for damages

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or harm, regardless whether
they intended to cause the harm

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or even aware that the harm might result.

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So strict liability is often
used in very specific areas

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of loss, such as products where the goal

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is to protect the consumers from dangerous

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or defective products.

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Under this principle,

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a manufacturer can be held strictly liable

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for damages caused by a product,

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regardless whether the manufacturer
was aware of any defect

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or took any reasonable
steps to prevent the harm.

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Another example, probably
a helpful example

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of this idea is the owner

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of a very dangerous animal.

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In some jurisdiction, the owner

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of the dangerous animal
may be held strictly liable

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for any harm caused by
the animal, regardless

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of whether the owner was aware

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of the animal's dangerous propensities

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or took reasonable steps
to prevent the harm.

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An example could be a zoo.

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If you have a zoo and you know

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that there's an animal

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that has attacked multiple zookeepers,

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whether or not the zoo is negligent,

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so even if the zoo takes
all these steps to make sure

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that the animal has no
contact with the public,

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with zookeepers,

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but someone you know
takes active steps to go

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into that cage and is injured
by the animal, that idea

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of strict liability can come into play,

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because whether or not
the zoo was negligent,

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the zoo is housing a dangerous animal,

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and so maybe nothing that they do

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should be considered

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because they know that they have

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a very dangerous animal
that can hurt someone.

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It's important to know that
strict liability is different

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from vicarious liability, which
holds one party responsible

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for the actions of another.

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Strict liability is based on the actions

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of the defendant themselves rather

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than the relationship to another party.

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Strict liability is complex concept,

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it has specific requirements,

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and it can vary from
state to state in regards

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to the circumstances of the case.

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There's a bit for us to get
going on for torts this week,

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and I'll see you in the discussion form.