Law Essays - Public Emergency Liability - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2218 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Did you like this example? Public Emergency Liability Title: The privileged treatment accorded by the courts to the emergency services on the question of duty goes too far. It does not merely recognise the importance of their public services, it offers them a degree of protection which allows them to be unaccountable in circumstances where liability should clearly exist. 1. Do you agree? Critically consider by reference to authorities, whether the current law strikes the right balance. Introduction This paper discusses the legal perception of the duty of care owed by the public emergency services, including in particular the police, fire and ambulance services in the context of the burgeoning and ever-evolving law of tort. The statement under review claims that the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“privileged treatmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (some would say limited immunity) offered to the public emergency services à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“goes too farà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . It is further claimed that the latitude allowed by the courts in relation to the emergency services effectively renders those services unaccountable in circumstances where the imposition of liability is manifestly appropriate. In the following analysis these assertions are critically evaluated against the backdrop of relevant case law. The current balance of the law is identified in what is a constantly changing field. Conclusions are drawn on the basis of the authorities considered. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Law Essays Public Emergency Liability" essay for you Create order Emergency Services and the Duty of Care It is common knowledge that there is no general, proactive duty of care to undertake à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"rescuesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ or interventions in emergency situations, no matter how straightforward such rescues might appear. This is graphically illustrated by the case Barrett v Ministry of Defence (1995), where the failure of the MOD to intervene to prevent the death of an alcoholic soldier was not deemed to merit the imposition of tortious liability. Moreover, the position of English common law is mirrored in the United States on this point as Osterlind v Hill (1928) confirms. This stance was endorsed, by inference, in X v Bedfordshire County Council (1995) (by the House of Lords), and more explicitly in Stovin v Wise (1996). Indeed, Lord Hoffman opined in Stovin that the omission of a public authority to undertake the rescue of a emergency victim should be deemed incapable of deriving liability, except in circumstances where Parliament has expressly and specifically set down a right to redress in the form of financial compensation where the duty to intervene and rescue is not met. Given the above authorities it can come as no surprise that the law has traditionally not imposed a duty of care on emergency services when they are summoned to give assistance. In the case Ancell v McDermott (1993), for example, the court ruled that the police service was not subject to a duty of care to warn road users of dangers on the roads that were known to the service. Moreover, in Alexandrou v Oxford (1993) police were dispatched to retail premises to investigate the triggering of a burglar alarm. However, they omitted to detect the presence of a burglar before departing the shop. In this case the court ruled that the police did not owe a duty of care to the owner of the premises, who suffered loss as a consequence of the serviceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s failure. The court reasoned that to impose a duty of care in such circumstances would be contrary to the interests of public policy. The court also drew on the concept of proximity to justify its decision, although it is submitted that this seems tenuous given that it is hard to imagine a much more proximate situation. These decisions are in conformity with the earlier case of Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire (1989), in which the issue for the consideration of the court was whether the allegedly incompetent police service should be held to a tortious duty of care over its acquiescence before arresting the infamous Peter Sutcliffe, better known as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Yorkshire Ripperà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , although the police were in possession of cogent evidence indicating his culpability. The court rejected the action on grounds of public policy and also, this time on a much better-founded assertion of a lack of proximity. It was conceded that the police service owes a fundamental duty to the general public to catch the protagonists of crime efficiently and promptly but the court reason ed that it was impossible to define a specific class of individuals to whom the duty of care should be owed. It can be argued that there is manifest and abundant justification for the decision in Hill. Surely it is not feasible to impose a legally enforceable duty of care on the police force, and thereafter by inevitable implication award pecuniary compensation in the form of damages for every failed (or slow) investigation. The great majority of crimes go unsolved. The potential workload that the courts would be unimaginably huge and the compensation bill, which would ultimately have to be met by the public purse would be colossal. The case of Rondel v Worsley [1969] confirms the approach in Hill and the later cases discussed. In Rondel, unavoidable public policy factors were deemed to take precedence over issues of proximity in the courtà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s deliberations. That said however, there are limits to the fear of opening the floodgates to claims. If during the cou rse of their operations the police are responsible for directly causing immediate harm to another they may be held liable for those actions. In Rigby v Chief Constable of Northamptonshire (1985), liability was imposed after the negligent use of a CS gas cannister and previously in Knightley v Johns (1982) negligent conduct in the aftermath of a traffic accident was found to justify a claim in tort. These cases, and other of their ilk, show that the police service can be subject to an enforceable duty of care, but only in tightly restricted circumstances and only where close causal proximity is clearly established. A case concerning the fire service shows that the police are not alone in their difficult relationship with tort law. In Capital and Counties plc v Hampshire County Council (1996) the court held at first instance that the fire service was liable for the negligence of one of its officers in ordering that the sprinkler system in a burning building should be turned off. The first instance judge dismissed arguments for immunity based on public policy. It was held (somewhat dubiously it is argued) that potential liability was unlikely to result in fire-fighting being carried out with a defensive frame of mind and the fire brigadeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s exclusive control of its operations was a consideration against a public policy immunity. This decision appears to be in accord with the contemporaneous Scottish case of Duff v Highland and Islands Fire Board (1995), where it was held that the fire brigade did not enjoy immunity in tort regarding operational matters. In Duff the fire brigade attended the scene of a fire and then left believing it was extinguished. It was not extinguished and when the brigade was called back they were unable to control the fire and it destroyed the pursuerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s house. Lord MacFadyen opined that, while there was a risk of defensive behaviour among fire-fighters, precisely the same argument could be emplo yed with equal force in the context of medical negligence and other forms of professional negligence and there was no question of extending public policy immunity into these vast spheres. Another contemporary supporting case is Crown River Cruises Ltd v Kimbolton Fireworks Ltd (1996), where the fire brigade was found liable in respect of a negligent failure to extinguish properly an initial fire at a premises. However, it must be noted that Capital and Counties plc v Hampshire County Council (1997) went to appeal at the Court of Appeal joined with two other cases. The facts of Capital and Counties are already known. In the joined case Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints v West Yorkshire and Civil Defence Authority the fire service negligently omitted to source a sufficient supply of water for the purposes of extinguishing a fire and in the third joined case Monroe v London Fire Brigade officers of the fire service failed to check the perimeter of an explosion for seco ndary fires. The Court of Appeal ruled that the fire service does not owe a general tortious duty of care merely because they had been summoned to give assistance. The Court also held that the fire serviceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assumption of responsibility once at the scene of an emergency, coupled with the reliance placed on the service by the parties involved, did not of itself establish a duty of care on the part of the fire service. The consequence of these rulings on principle was that the Church of Jesus Christ and Monroe cases failed on the facts. Liability was only established in the Capital and Counties case on the narrow grounds that the fire service had actually, physically and directly caused the damage suffered in the case, by personally and deliberately switching off the sprinkler system. All that said, a potentially groundbreaking decision was reached in the more recent case of Kent v Griffiths (2001). Here, a pregnant woman suffered an asthma attack at home. He r doctor attended her, realised she was in extreme difficulty and called 999 to summon an ambulance. The ambulance did not arrive for a period of 40 minutes (as opposed to the serviceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s own guidelines which indicated it should have arrived within a maximum of 14 minutes. It transpired that the ambulance crew entered false records in their logbook in an attempt to cover up their own negligence. The woman ultimately suffered a respiratory arrest, lost her baby and was left with brain damage as a direct result of the delay of the ambulance. Unsurprisingly the ambulance service was sued for negligence. At first instance, Turner J held that it would be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“offensive to, and inconsistent with, concepts of common humanityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  to refuse to impose a duty of care in all the circumstances of the case. Equipped with clear evidence of negligence and causation (and even mala fides) Turner J ruled that where the ambulance service accepted the task of providing a timely response and was in a position to do so, it was right to impose a duty of care to carry out the rescue in regards to the rescuee. The decision in Kent v Griffiths was welcomed by some, but feared by others concerned about opening the floodgates to a multitude of claims. The case was appealed. At the Court of Appeal it is submitted that an appropriate balance was struck. The first instance decision was upheld, however, their Lordships were at pains to stress that the precedent should be limited in its future application to the ambulance service. Master of the Rolls Lord Woolf made it clear that Kent v Griffiths could not be utilised in justifying actions against other arms of the emergency services. In confining the case strictly to its facts, Lord Woolf MR made it crystal clear that no general point of principle had been established. Their Lordships focused on the specific relationship between the ambulance service and each individual patient as differentia ting the judgment from cases involving services, such as the fire brigade, the coastguard and the police, who owe a more general duty of societal protection. Concluding Comments With specific reference to the title to this work, it is clear that there is a very delicate balance to be struck in the imposition of a legally enforceable tortious duty of care on the public emergency services. It is submitted that both extremes are undesirable: at least that much is relatively uncontroversial. It would clearly be inappropriate to afford the emergency services complete immunity, because to do so would be to allow outrageous examples of highly proximate and gross negligence to go unpunished. Such would give the emergency services carte blanche to act in society under a licence not enjoyed by any other of its members. However, it would be equally unsatisfactory to settle a duty of care on the services that could potentially punish each and every technical incidence of negligence, because to do so would so drastically impair their actions and divert their scarce resources into defending the veritable multitude of civil suits that would quickly ensue. While it is far from ideal to build a framework of law on a case by case basis, it is hard to identify a better approach. The tentative step forward that was taken in Kent v Griffiths was quickly confined to the facts of the case and limited in terms of the scope of its future application. The reasons for this are obvious, and as long as the courts are prepared to extend liability in those cases that demand it, while curtailing the effects of their judgments with a view to the wider and general picture of public policy, then the law should be able to maintain efficiency and integrity in this sphere. In conclusion it is submitted that it is appropriate to open the floodgates just a crack, to allow the courts to deal with the most deserving cases within a rigid framework of liability, but not so far as to impede the emergency services in the work on which we all rely. Bibliography Cases as footnoted to standard citation Kidner R, Casebook on Torts, (2006) Oxford University Press Rogers W.V.H., Winfield and Jolowicz on Tort, (2002) Sweet Maxwell Weir, T, Casebook on Torts, (2004) Sweet Maxwell

Medea Critique Essay - 1337 Words

THEA 2040 (039) GSU Dunwoody 9/13/17 Critique of Medea, by Euripides 1. Title: Medea | Author: Euripides | Date Written: 431 BC | Genre: Tragedy | Setting: Mythological Grecian Era, Time of Myth, Corinth Theme: The theme presented in Medea that is the most prevalent and defining is, in my opinion, the idea of female agency and power in a male-dominated society. The locus of the play really lies in Medea’s cunning and clever nature, and her use of it to demolish Jason’s life as he knows it. Many examples of this can be found throughout the play, for instance Medea taking advantage of Aegeus by making him swear to keep her in Athens no matter what happens when she is banished from Corinth, particularly by use of emotional manipulation†¦show more content†¦He is the captain of the Argonauts, an ancient group of heroic Greeks who traveled with him to steal the Golden Fleece, a mythical item of kingship. He is a rather simple man, but deserts Medea in order to marry Glauce, promising Medea that it is for the better of her and the children, that they would be able to live in the lap of luxury and grow to become powerful rulers. He is the unlucky target of Medea’s wra th, although he certainly did bring it upon himself. His relationships with Glauce and Creon and positive, as he wants to marry Glauce and attain Creon’s favor, but according to Medea he was an absent father and clearly a flawed husband. Creon: The king of Corinth and father of Glauce, an understanding man who is killed by Medea’s poisoned gift to Glauce. He is not really characterized too well other than his rather kind demeanor. His relationships are basically established as simply an authority figure for the characters, and are generally positive until Medea decides that he must also face her wrath. Aegeus: The king of Athens, he helps Medea secure a destination for her escape by providing her with asylum in Athens. The only relationship he has is with Medea, and it is not particularly described well as to how they know each other. 3. Plot Summary: The play begins with a Nurse giving us a brief synopsis of the events leading up to the current time, like Medea falling in love with Jason,Show MoreRelatedHow Modern Versions Of Medea ( Euripides ) And Antigone ( Sophocles )1246 Words   |  5 Pagesagainst these restrictions would condemn women to be seen as psychotics, liars, and traitors. Even so many female playwrights recreate these plays today in a modern light to establish a prevailing production. Throughout this essay I will discuss how modern versions of Medea (Euripides) and Antigone (Sophocles) challenge ancient Greek gender stereotypes in order to make a powerful feminist statement about contemporary society. Ancient Athenian society was objectively male dominated. 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The River of Earth Free Essays

The River of Earth The novel River Of Earth by James Still is a story about life in e Appalachia just before The Great Depression. The story provides a very clear description of the problems and challenges the mountain people faced after the settlement of their land. Even though the novel is shadowed by other writings of the time period dealing with poor southern life, it is still considered a great neglected masterpiece. We will write a custom essay sample on The River of Earth or any similar topic only for you Order Now The story is about a family that considers awkward. They struggle to put enough food on the table for the entire family, most of the time the mother barely eats. They live in a small smoke house that is very cramped and cluttered because of the number of people living in it. The Father is waiting for the coal mines to open so he can work, while the mother takes care of the kids, the family does not complain; they feel blessed for what they have . The father is very proud and doesn’t turn anyone away when they need help. In the book he allowed a group of miners to take most of his beans from the garden to help keep their families feed . The mother is a very strongwilled woman. She never lets anything bring her down; when the family begins to have trouble with food she suggests that they begin growing a garden and providing for themselves. The kids are smart and goodwilled from what they are taught by their parents. They display good moral values in their characters. The garden is a source of life for the family in the book. This is so because as times get harder they grow together and the garden also becomes more and heartier. They begin to have more food for their dinners, this helps the family keep their spirits up and continue to hope for good blessings to be brought to the family such as the mines opening. As the family grows stronger they begin to add to their source of food. Instead of eating only soup and vegetables and potatoes, they add begin to eat meat. They own a guinea Chicken which starts to lay a large amount of eggs they let hatch and raise. The kids are not embarrassed about what they eat, they seem happy for what they have. The father makes the children go to school because he feels that everyone should learn the basics of academics such as reading and writing to help them survive is the world. At first they are scared and don’t want to go because they have never been and feel they are too young. As they continue to grow they start to show improvements and gain confidence in their ability to perform in the classroom. They fear for the teacher being run off because the older kids don’t like him and some of the parents don’t appreciate his teaching methods. The main character and his sister hope he stays so they will continue to learn. The main character is sent by his father to stay with his grandmother. This is where you learn that the strong heart runs in the family. This is true because she is a seventy-eight year old woman and will still patch out two acres of corn and make enough bread for the winter to do what she can to keep her family feed. In her old age she hasn’t kept the best health. Some days she is too sick to get out of the bed. The main character takes care of her he cooks all the meals for her and helps her start to feel better. Living with her he hears stories of his father and how he is an honest man. Also his grandmother tells him about his grandfather and all the great things he would do. Living with his grandmother is a great experience for the main character because she brings him history of his family and teaches him many things on how to live a content life. Also being away from home helps himself grow as a person. It teaches to stick up for himself and make his own decisions without the influence of others. When the main character returns to his family he learns that the baby had died from croup. Also the family moves to a farm they rented in Flaxpatch on Little Angus. Here they plant crops and farm together as a family. The father has returned from the mines and decides he wishes to move back because he heard they would stay open through the winter. They go and he works there for a while and earns decent money, enough to support his family. During the winter the main characters grandmother dies. It’s a sad moment for the entire family. This is so because she was such a strong figure in the book even with her bad health. After the winter the father decides to stop mining and move the family to a place where he can find a different job or stat a farm. In the end the main character imagines his grandmother talking to him about his baby sibling crying. This story gives great detail to a life lived by the mountain families of the Appalachia. It puts you in the shoes of a young boy who is growing up in the hard time period just before The Great Depression. James Still does a great job of capturing the culture of the time period. Unfortunately, this book will always remain a neglected masterpiece. How to cite The River of Earth, Essay examples

Russian Bank Scandal Essay Example For Students

Russian Bank Scandal Essay On October 6, 1999 the news hour with Jim Lehrer air a focus topic called Following the Money. This focus discussion dealt with the Russian Bank Scandal. This scandal deals with the transfer of about seven billions dollars out of the Bank of New York to companies with Russian associations.Robert OHarrow , a banking expert for the Washington Post, believes that this scandal will become a serious policy issue. Base on his conclusion of this becoming a serious problem, one may see that there are problems in the banking structure of the United States. In fact there has to be a problem when seven billion dollars of transions are made to foreign soils and no one throws up a red flag. One may also conclude that this scandal reaches further that the banking structure. The question must be ask, Where is all this money coming from? This money could be money that was given by the International Monetary Fund to help rebuild the fallen Russian economy. That money could now be being used to support criminal activities. As we see now this could be not only an international problem, but a domestic problem also. In todays warfare the victor is left in rebuilding the fallen enemy. In this case the United States won the cold war and is now left to pay the bill for rebuilding Russia. The money that is being use comes directly from taxpayers. I believe that this is the reason why Mr. OHarrow believes this will have a serious effect on policy decision. If the money that is supposed to help the Russian people is being for wrongdoing and the Russians are behind this, the scandal could have a serious effect on U.S. and Russian relations. Policy makers will be force to make changes in the methods it helps Russian during this time of need. This scandal can be serious external triggering mechanism. With the scandal dealing largely with belief that international money is being used to support illegal activities could cause a major shift in decision making. At the moment the Intensity of this problem has not reach a level of alert. Mainly become most American do not see the potential backlash of this scandal. Once the facts come out and taxpayers are forced to tote the bill of paying back the lost funds then the matter will intensify. Also American can grow tired of given money to a country that does no use money for reasons the money was given to them. Time is a crucial factor in dealing with this scandal. As time goes by more of the true will become available and from that moment we will be able to see whom this scandal will truly affect.Although the Bank of New York has not been charge with any wrong doing it is clear that changes will be made in the banking structure. These changes will range in who banks let open accounts to stronger views on customer privacy. If this changes were to take place in the banking structure then the scope and intensity would greatly intensify due to this scandal. At the moment no one knows that outcome of this problem, but one thing is for sure changes in policy will be made dealing with either Russian relations or Banking Struture.