Business law and ethics analysis of The Buffalo Creek Disaster

Business law and ethics analysis of The Buffalo Creek Disaster

A “tort” is a civil (non-criminal) injury to another’s person or property. In other words, a
tort is to civil law what a crime is to criminal law.
-If a person commits a crime, that person can be. arrested by the police and prosecuted
by the state or federal government, found guilty and convicted of a crime, and s/he will
likely have to serve time in jail or prison and pay criminal penalties.
However, if a person commits a tort, that person {the “tortfeasor”) can be sued the
victim, found liable for the tort, and s/he will likely have to pay damages (money) to the
victim as compensation for the tort.
The Goals of Tort Law
-The primary goal is to compensate innocent people who are injured ( or whose
property is injured) as a result of another person’s conduct.
-There are also societal goals. Our civil law system prevents victims from retaliating
personally (“vigilante justice”) because they have a remedy at law. It also deters tortious
(wrongful) conduct because people know that they can be sued for harming others. And
it contributes to the sense that we live in a just society where a person who is wronged
can seek a remedy through official legal channels.
-Example: if Sam takes Judy’s car and wrecks it, Judy can sue Sam for the cost of
replacing the car. If we did not have a civil law system in place, Judy would have no
remedy other than perhaps to take Sam’s car in response to Sam taking her car.
Damages
-“Damages” are the money that a plaintiff can recover from a defendant in a civil lawsuit
(the defendant would be a tortfeasor in this case).
-There are three types of damages available: compensatory damages, punitive
damages, and nominal damages.
1. Compensatory Damages: these are the most common damages awarded in civil
lawsuits. The idea is to force the defendant (tortfeasor) to compensate the
plaintiff (victim) for the harm s/he did. The judge or jury determines how much
money the defendant must pay the plaintiff to “make the plaintiff whole” again
after the injury. The idea is to put the plaintiff in the position s/he would be in if
the tort had never occurred.
2. Punitive Damages: these are large amounts of money which the defendant must
pay the plaintiff in order to punish the defendant and discourage similar conduct
in the future. A judge or jury might award punitive damages in a situation where
the defendant’s conduct was particularly reprehensible, and the judge or jury
wants to send a message that such conduct will be met with severe
punishments. We will discuss punitive damages more in a moment………………

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