Law Students

Who's at fault? It's your fault!!!!

By Tyler Larsen

Personal responsibility or accountability is a hot topic in my tort class. Who is responsible for an accident? Who's at fault? Several law students that I talk with, and myself, feel that the law is taking personal accountability out of the equation. There are several blogs that discuss this same topic. OverLawyered.com has a page up about personal accountability. I have personally listened to a podcast put on by the LegalTalkNetwork. You can download the pod casts easily from Itunes. One of the pod casts that was posted addresses this specific issue.

In my very limited knowledge of law, I present my opinion. I am very apprehensive of a person claiming an injury and blaming another. My first question is what did the person do to cause his own injury? Or maybe a bad thing happened and it wasn't anyone's fault? I personally worked in the medical field as a certified nursing assistant. Many times my surgical floor would receive an elderly patient that was confused and disoriented. As hospital staff we would do everything possible to keep the patient safe from falling. We would place the patient on a low bed, turn on patient motion alarms, and pass by the patent's room routinely to ensure that the patient was safe. WE LIVED IN FEAR of a LAWSUIT from a patient fall. We were trying to be reasonable and prudent in our care of the patient. But when does liability stop?

Tough question and that's why our system is congested with these types of hard questions. There doesn't seem to be a right answer. The interest of the plaintiff in being free from frivolous lawsuits and the interest of the defendant in obtaining a just relief make out a tough balancing act.

Full post as published by Law School Survivor on October 26, 2007 (boomark / email).