Negligence

There are three main defenses for negligence; these include contributory negligence, comparative negligence, and assumption of risk. The most commonly used defense for negligence is contributory negligence (Laws.com, 2013). This defense places blame on the plaintiff by claiming that it was his or her own negligence that contributed largely to their injuries. According to the premises of this defense the plaintiffs is responsible to protect themselves from known harm by taking needed measures from the risk. In this case, if both parties are found guilty, no damages will be awarded (Laws.com, 2013). As a measure to remedy unfair findings of contributory negligence, comparative negligence is utilized. Here damages are determined based on the type and extent of contributory negligence. In this case, there are three main types;

* Pure: here damages are awarded based upon the percentage of the defendant’s responsibility (Thomson Reuters, 2014).

* Modified: damages are only awarded if their negligence is equal to or less than the defendants (Thomson Reuters, 2014).

* Slight-gross: damages or only awarded if plaintiffs negligence is slight while the defendants is gross (Thomson Reuters, 2014).

The assumption of risk defense claims that a level of risk that the plaintiff agreed to was implied, and that the defendant was not obligated to protect them (Laws.com, 2013). In this scenario, there was an expressed or implied knowledge of risk before the plaintiff agreed to pursue the action with the defendant that caused the injury. A form of expressed consent would be a liability waiver that removes responsibility for the defendant should anything happen to the plaintiff. Implied consent is demonstrated through actions, or conversations (Laws.com, 2013).

References

Laws.com. (2013). The Best Defenses for Negligence. Retrieved 2014, from Laws.com: http://tort.laws.com/negligence-defenses

Thomson Reuters. (2014). Defenses to Negligence Claims . Retrieved 2014, from...