Introduction to Liability Insurance

Liability insurance protects against the possibility of a claim alleging that an insured person or organization is responsible for another party's injury or damage.

Involves the failure to use the degree of care that is considered reasonable under a given set of circumstances.

• duty of care
• breach of duty of care
• causation
• damages

The defendant must have a duty to either do something or to keep from doing something. The conduct required of the defendant is referred to as the "standard of care."

A deviation from the standard of care the defendant is held to.

Liability will only be imposed for setting in motion a relatively short chain of events leading to natural, probable, or foreseeable consequences.

The plaintiff must have suffered a legally compensable injury or damage to property to recover money damages from the defendant.

reimbursement

tangible losses

pain and suffering

punishment

• assumption of risk
• contributory negligence
• comparative negligence

An argument that, even though the defendant acted negligently, the plaintiff knew there was a substantial possibility that something might go wrong and that he or she could be injured, and the plaintiff voluntarily exposed himself or herself to that danger anyway. This defense focuses on the knowing and voluntary character of the plaintiff's conduct.

Also focuses on the plaintiff's conduct, but in this defense, the plaintiff's actions resulting in the injury are unknowing and involuntary.

Under this doctrine, the negligence of the plaintiff is compared against the negligence of the defendant. The amount of the recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault.

• strict (absolute) liability
• vicarious liability
• attractive nuisances