Generally speaking, it is not possible for a commercial lawyer to exclude liability for negligence from a commercial agreement, and the idea of negligence is often linked to the contractual concepts of damages and indemnity.

The focus is on how businesses and other organizations can become liable for not taking sufficient care in certain situations with the result that someone suffers harm. The law of tort can be described as the law of ‘civil wrongs’, and the tort of negligence can be a particularly useful area of expertise for a commercial lawyer. The module features the so-called ‘McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case’ and the controversial question of how much a victim of negligence should be compensated when a wealthy corporation is found to have broken the law.

 

Course access: this online legal English course will be available for 40 days after purchase.

 

At the end of this course in English for lawyers, you will know more about:

• the prominence of the law of tort in common law systems
• the concept of the duty of care and the consequences of breaching that duty
• the law on negligence and its role as a deterrent to negligent conduct
• the claim brought against McDonald’s by US citizen Stella Liebeck
• the concept of punitive damages in negligence cases
• the importance of Donoghue v Stephenson and how it established new law as a precedent case in the common law world
• the concept of vicarious liability and becoming liable for the negligence of others
• the requirement of foreseeability of harm and the ‘reasonable man’ test
• contributory negligence and the effect this has on an award of damages
• the Caparo Test and the liability of professionals for negligent statements
• some key legal English dictionary terms that are essential to practising commercial law at an international level

 

Great practice for ALL THREE LEVELS of the TOLES exams in legal English.