Other kinds of wrongs

Some things people do are not crimes but they are not fair, or they harm someone. These are called civil wrongs.

The law says that we must be careful not to harm other people. Sometimes, people can be hurt by someone who has been careless or irresponsible. The law says we have a duty of care to other people. We must also respect the rights of other people; and we must keep our part of any agreements we make.

If we commit a civil wrong, the person who is harmed can go to court and ask the magistrate or judge to order us to fix up what we have done.

Orders

• Keep your promises.
• Stop annoying neighbours.
• Pay for any damage you caused
• Print an apology.

What have we learnt?

• Crimes are actions that threaten the whole community.
• Criminals must receive fair punishment.
• People who harm others by committing civil wrongs must fix up the harm they have caused

Let’s explore

• Will the police help you if a plumber damages your house while fixing a pipe?
  
• If the wheel on your bike falls off and needs fixing, should you tell your friend before he or she borrows it?

Accidents

People who have been injured in accidents may need to have surgery or other medical treatment. They might have a lot of bills to pay, or not be able to go to work, or suffer a lot of pain because of their injuries. They may ask a court to order the person who caused the accident to pay compensation. This is called suing for damages.

An injured person will only get damages (money) if the court decides that the person who caused the accident was negligent. To decide if a person was negligent, the judge has to ask if that person was taking proper care not to harm others or did he or she do something that was careless and foolish.

If the court decides that somebody was negligent, the next task is to decide on the amount of compensation. The aim of compensation is to try to put the injured person’s life back to the way it was before the accident.

You be the judge. In each of the following cases, decide whether the person who caused the accident was negligent or not negligent.

Sometimes the victim of the accident will have contributed to the accident, for example a pedestrian may not have looked both ways before crossing the road and been hit by a car. When this occurs, the injured person will get less compensation than if they hadn’t contributed to the accident.

Keywords

• Duty of care
  
• Negligent
  
• Civil wrongs
  
• Suing for damages
  
• Compensation

What have we learnt?

1. Accidents do happen.
2. Some accidents involve negligence by someone involved in the accident.
3. Negligence means someone has done something careless or foolish.
4. An injured person can sue for compensation.
5. A judge decides if anyone was negligent.
6. If the victim did something to contribute to the accident, the compensation will be less than if he or she had not contributed to the accident.