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UNIT 4. CIVIL OFFENCES/TORTS
1. Ответьте на вопросы:What civil offences can you name? What types of torts can you name? What remedies is the injured person entitled to under the law? TEXT 1What Is a Tort?Vocabulary to inflict – причинять ущерб, вред, наносить удар to injure – причинять вред, нарушать права, оскорбить, обидеть to restrain – ограничивать, запрещать to fail to do – smth/not to do smth – не исполнять failure – неисполнение, неудача, неблагоприятный исход damage – ущерб, убытки damages – компенсация ущерба fraudulent misrepresentation – намеренное введение в заблуждение liability/responsibility – ответственность expected losses – ожидаемые убытки defective products – недоброкачественные продукты Прочитайте и переведите текст.Generally speaking, a "tort" is an injury one person or entity inflicts (accidentally or intentionally) upon another. When one person commits a tort upon another, the injured person is entitled to remedies under the law. Generally, these remedies can include monetary compensation and restraining orders. The person who brings the lawsuit is called the "plaintiff," and the person who is sued is called the "defendant." The area of tort law is often referred to as "personal injury" law. Most torts involve, in some part, the doctrine of "negligence." The concept of negligence can generally be describes as (i) the failure of one person to act in a way we would expect that person to do under the circumstances and (ii) an injury which results from that failure. A tort is a civil wrong that can be remedied by awarding damages (other remedies may also be available). These civil wrongs result in harm to a person or property that forms the basis of a claim by the injured party. The harm can be physical, emotional or financial. Examples of torts include medical negligence, negligent damage to private property and negligent misstatements causing financial loss. There are many specific torts, such as trespass, assault and negligence. Business torts include fraudulent misrepresentation, interference in contractual relations and unfair business practices. Torts fall into three general categories: intentional torts (e.g. unfair competition), negligent torts (e.g. causing an accident by failing to obey traffic rules) and strict liability torts (e.g. liability for making and selling defective products).Why some wrongs are dealt with by tort law (or the law of torts) and others considered criminal offences is the subject of some debate. However, there are certainly overlaps between tort law and criminal law. For example, a defendant can be liable to compensate for assault and battery in tort and also be punished for the criminal law offence of assault. Differences between tort law and criminal law include: the parties involved (the state brings an action in crime, a private individual brings an action in tort); the standard of proof (higher in criminal law); and the outcomes (a criminal action may result in a conviction and punishment, whereas an action in tort may result in liability on the part of the defendant and damages awarded to the claimant). The primary aims of tort law are to provide relief for the harm suffered and deter other potential tort feasors from committing the same harms. The injured person may sue for both an injunction to stop the tortious conduct and for monetary damages. Depending on the jurisdiction, the damages awarded will be either compensatory or punitive. Compensatory damages are intended to put the victim in the position he or she would have been in had the tort not occurred. Punitive damages are awarded to punish a wrongdoer. As well as compensation for damage to property, damages may also be awarded for: loss of earnings capacity, future expected losses, pain and suffering and reasonable medical expenses. Подберите к английским словам и словосочетаниям из текста русские эквиваленты. A B
Составьте словосочетания из приведенных ниже существительных и прилагательных.civil a) damages contractual b) wrong injured c) misrepresentation fraudulent d) party medical e) relations monetary f) expenses Дополните предложения словосочетаниями из упражнения 3.While a crime such as murder or shoplifting is a wrong committed against society, a tort is a… committed against an individual. Torts are handled in the civil courts, where the … brings an action against the wrongdoer. In most cases, the injured party is entitled to remedies under the law, such as … . In medical malpractice cases, the damages awarded to the injured party may include lost wages and … . The tort of … occurs when one of the parties to a contract makes a false statement about a fact and knows it is not true, and this fact is acted upon. When a person stops parties from entering into a contract, for example, this person is said to interfere in … . Cоставьте предложения, используя приведенные ниже словосочетания.To commit a tort upon smb., to do under the circumstances, to result from, to result in, to fall into, to deal with, to sue for, to deter from, to be awarded for, to be remedied by. Ответьте на вопросы по тексту.According to the text, what are the two main objectives of Tort law? An injured party can sue for damages or for an injunction. According to the text, what types of loss can be compensated by an award for damages? What does the term “injunction” mean? A manufacturer produces a dangerous toy train. What category of tort is this? TEXT 2Types of Torts Прочитайте текст. Ознакомьтесь с приведенными ниже гражданскими правонарушениями и определите, какому из описаний в тексте они соответствуют. Malpractice Assault and battery Products liability Fraud Premises liability Automobile accidents Defamation/invasion of privacy There are a number of different types of torts. Here is a short list of the most common. These types of torts involve all of the personal injuries one can receive in an automobile accident. Generally, one driver causes an accident which injures (or sometimes kills) others (e.g. his passengers, people in another automobile or pedestrians). These types of torts involve injuries one can receive from the condition of a particular parcel of property, mostly due to the failure of the property owner to keep the condition of the property in a safe condition. Two common examples of these types of torts include (i) a "slip and fall" accident and (ii) an injury one receives from a crime committed on another’s property (e.g. being mugged or assaulted in a private parking garage where the owner of the garage knew that people were getting mugged all the time – and did nothing to prevent further muggings). These types of torts involve injuries one can receive due to the mistake of a licensed professional (i.e. a doctor, a lawyer or a dentist). Generally, these types of torts require the "expert" testimony of a professional (e.g. another doctor in a medical malpractice case). These types of torts involve injuries one can receive from a "product" such as a machine, medical device or a prescription drug. The injured person must prove that the product in question was improperly designed, constructed or packaged without the proper regard for the damage it could cause to a human being. These types of torts involve injuries one can receive from something another says or writes which is untrue, malicious and/or private. These defamation torts include (i) slander (spoken word), (ii) libel (written word) and (iii) invasion of privacy (making something public which was and should have remained very private). These types of torts generally involve one person physically attacking another person. These are also sometimes called "intentional torts" to distinguish them from most other torts (which usually involve an accident resulting from another's mistake or lack of care). This is also another type of intentional tort. This involves one person lying, misrepresenting or concealing an important piece of information from another person in order to get that other person to do or refrain from doing something. In short, a plaintiff is tricked by the fraudulent act of the defendant. 9. Ответьте на вопросы.What are the types of torts? How do you understand the "slip and fall" type of accident? People of what professions can be accused of malpractice? What is the difference between slander and libel? How do intentional torts differ from most other torts? What type of tort does misrepresenting or concealing information belong to? What type of tort does physically attacking a person belong to? TEXT 3Assault and Battery.Fraud10. Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы. What is the main difference between assault and battery? What are the most common punishments imposed for assault, battery and fraud? ASSAULT AND BATTERYAssault is a threat against a person, and battery is a physical attack. For example, a person who waves a fist in front of another person and threatens to beat that person is guilty of assault; a person who strikes another person with a fist is guilty of battery. The victim can sue the assailant for damages, and the state may also prosecute for misdemeanor. In a civil case alleging assault, the victim must prove that he or she was in imminent danger of injury or had reason to think so. Abusive language alone does not constitute an assault. Threatening with a pistol may be an assault, even if the weapon is unloaded. In a case of battery the amount of contact is unimportant, for any touching of another person in an angry, vengeful, rude, or insolent manner constitutes a battery. FRAUDFraud is an intentional untruth or a dishonest scheme used to take deliberate and unfair advantage of another person or group of persons. It includes any means, such as surprise, trickery, or cunning, by which one cheats another. Courts have distinguished two types of fraud, actual fraud and constructive fraud. Actual fraud is intentional criminal deception for the purpose of inducing another to part with something of value, to acquire something of less than apparent value, or to surrender a legal right. Schemes specifically intended to cheat someone, such as selling shares in nonexistent plots of land, are actual frauds. Constructive frauds are words, acts, or omissions that tend to mislead or deceive someone or violate a confidence but that are not necessarily of malicious intent. Selling a house while forgetting to mention a chronically malfunctioning heating system is an example of constructive fraud. Usually, the victim of fraud may sue the wrongdoer and recover the amount of damages caused by the fraud or deceit. But the victim must be able to prove damages. TEXT 4MalpracticeПрочитайте текст и переведите письменно выделенный абзац. Malpractice refers to misconduct or negligence by a professional person, such as a physician, lawyer, or accountant. Such misconduct includes failure to exercise the level of skill and learning expected of a licensed professional. The result of malpractice to the client or patient is injury, damage, or some loss owing to professional incompetence. The official criteria for a valid medical malpractice claim are duty, breach, damages, and causation. The practitioner must have had a relationship to the patient, which indicates that he or she had a duty to exercise ordinary care; must have breached that duty, according to the applicable standard of care; and because of that breach must have caused the patient physical and monetary damages. If there is evidence of malpractice, a client may sue in a civil action, seeking damages in the form of money. Those most likely to be sued are surgeons, since malpractice is much easier to prove when a surgical operation has been done. If, for example, a surgeon leaves a foreign object inside a closed wound, the surgeon is clearly liable for the carelessness. Plastic surgeons are most at risk, since their operations are done to improve the patient's appearance. Dissatisfied patients may sue.Medical malpractice actions do three things: provide quality control for the medical profession; provide some measure of compensation for the harm done; and give emotional vindication to the plaintiff, which is a measure of his or her ability to make a complaint and receive a satisfactory response. Of these, quality control is probably best achieved. Since the 1970s there has been a virtual epidemic of malpractice suits in American courts. The bringing of abortion malpractice suits has even been employed by both prochoice and antiabortion plaintiffs. Wrongful birth action is a medical malpractice claim by parents for the birth of a severely disabled child. Some antiabortion groups encourage abortion malpractice claims, one type of which is for emotional harm they term "post-abortion trauma." Other professionals, including clergy, teachers, stockbrokers, architects, and dentists, have been sued for malpractice. Because judgments against a professional may result in very high damages, often of more than 1 million dollars, individuals in the professions carry liability insurance. Premiums for malpractice insurance have risen dramatically, costing thousands of dollars a year. Some state legislatures have taken action to limit the number of suits and the amount of the damages. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты следующих словосочетаний.неправомерное поведение недобросовестная врачебная практика доказательство недобросовестной практики нарушать обязанности денежная компенсация взыскание, восстановление права, виндикция моральный ущерб судебное решение, приговор в отношении кого-либо страхование ответственности Подберите к английским словосочетаниям соответствующие русские.active negligence crime of negligence criminal negligence gross negligence imputed negligence infliction by negligence killer by negligence passive negligence Ответьте на вопросы.What does malpractice refer to? What is usually the result of malpractice? What does each of the official criteria for a medical malpractice claim (duty, breach, damages, and causation) mean? Why are surgeons most likely to be sued for malpractice? Why do doctors, dentists, stockbrokers, and architects usually carry liability insurance? 15. Обсудите в группе приведенные в тексте “Malpractice” ситуации и приведите примеры недобросовестной медицинской практики. |