Template:Liability ladder: Difference between revisions

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===The ladder of liability===
===The ladder of liability===
In some strands of legal endeavour (notably in the [[criminal law]] and the [[tort]]ious world of [[tort|civil wrong-doing]], one’s [[mens rea|mental state]] is important in assessing one’s responsiblity; in others (principally the cool and dispassionate law of [[contract]]) it is — for the most part — not.
In some strands of legal endeavour (notably in the criminal law and the [[tort]]ious world of [[tort|civil wrong-doing]], one’s [[mens rea|mental state]] is important in assessing one’s responsiblity; in others (principally the cool and dispassionate law of [[contract]]) it is — for the most part — not.


Where the '''[[Inadvertence|inadvertent]]''' is blameless, neither knowing the risk she runs, nor being reasonably expected to be able to anticipate it; and the '''[[Negligence|negligent]]''' has some civil, civic responsibility for what befalls his [[neighbour]] on the premise that, since that odious hypothetical fellow plucked from the pews of the sacred [[Man on the Clapham Omnibus|Clapham omnibus]] would have seen it, so should he, even though in point of fact he did not; the '''[[gross negligence|grossly negligent]]''' is a poor, confused, careless American; the '''[[reckless]]''' sees the risk, all right, and decides to plough on and take it, notwithstanding, that she might have no particular wish or expectation that a calumny should befall ''anyone'', least of all the [[plaintiff]].  
Where the '''[[Inadvertence|inadvertent]]''' is blameless, neither knowing the risk she runs, nor being reasonably expected to be able to anticipate it; and the '''[[Negligence|negligent]]''' has some civil, civic responsibility for what befalls his [[neighbour]] on the premise that, since that odious hypothetical fellow plucked from the pews of the sacred [[Man on the Clapham Omnibus|Clapham omnibus]] would have seen it, so should he, even though in point of fact he did not; the '''[[gross negligence|grossly negligent]]''' is a poor, confused, careless American; the '''[[reckless]]''' sees the risk, all right, and decides to plough on and take it, notwithstanding, that she might have no particular wish or expectation that a calumny should befall ''anyone'', least of all the [[plaintiff]].