This course covers causation and damages, as well as the five major defenses that can be used to protect a party from liability.
For a tort action to be successful, one must show both actual cause and proximate cause. Actual cause requires a showing that the defendant's conduct caused the harm, while proximate cause shows that it was reasonably foreseeable that the defendant's conduct would lead to its conclusion. Several problems can occur when proving cause, especially if the plaintiff has a particular disability or health issue or something else happens to the individual before the case is settled.
Damages are also an important part of any negligence case. There are three categories of damages: compensatory, punitive and nominal.
There are also five primary defenses to negligence: statute of limitations, contributory negligence, comparative negligence, assumption of the risk and immunity. By the end of this course, students will have a better understanding of causation, damages and defenses.