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Legal Wrong
a violation of a person's legal rights, or a failure to perform a legal duty owed to a certain person or to society as a whole
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Tort
a legal wrong for which the law allows a remedy in the form of money damages
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Plantiff or Claimant
the person who is injured or harmed
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Defendant or Tortfeasor
by the actions of another person can sue for damages
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Strict Liability
liability is imposed regardless of negligence or fault
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Negligence
the failure to exercise the standard of care required by law to protect others from an unreasonable risk of harm
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Special Damages
awards for losses that can be determined and documented, such as medical expenses, lost earnings, or property damage
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Compensatory Damages
awards that compensate injured victims for the losses actually incurred
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Punitive Damages
awards designed to punish people and organizations o that others are deterred from committting the same wrongful act
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Proximate Cause
a cause unbroken by any new and independent cause, which produces an event that otherwise would not have occured
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Contributory Negligence
if the insured person's conduct falls below the standard of care required for his or her protection, and such conduct contributed to the injury, the insured person cannot collect damages
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Comparative Negligence
if both the plantiff (injured person) and the defendant (partly accused of negligence) contribute to the plantiff's injury, the financial burden of the injury is shared by both parties according to their respectable degrees of fault
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Last Clear Chance Rule
which states that a plantiff who is endangered by his or her own negligence can still recover damages from the defendant if the defendant has a last clear chance to avoid the accident but fails to do so
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Assumption of Risk
doctrine is another defense that can be used to defeat a claim for damages
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Imputed Negligence
under certain conditions, the negligence of one person can be attributed to another
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Vicarious Liability Law
by which a motorist's negligence is imputed to the vehicle's owner
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Family Purpose Doctrine
the owner of an automobile can be held liable for the negligent acts committed by immediate family members while they are operating the family car
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Dram Shop Law
a business that sells liquor can be held liable for damages that may result from the sale of liquor
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Res Ipsa Loquitur
the very fact that the injury or damage occurs establishes a presumption of negligence on behalf of the defendant. It is then up to the defendant to refute the presumption of negligence
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Trespasser
a person who enters or remains on the owner's property without the owner's consent
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Licensee
a person who enters or remains on the premises with the occupant's expressed or implied permission
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Invitee
a person who is invited onto the premises for the benefit of the occupant
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Attractive Nuisance
a condition that can attract and injure children
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Sovereign Immunity
that the king or queen can do no wrong
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Proprietary Function
the operation of water plants; electrical, transportation, and telephone systems; municipal auditoriums; and similar money-making activities
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Respondeat Superior
an employer can be held liable for the negligent acts of employess while they are acting on the employer's behalf
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