Civil Liability Law Course

Lesson 1 • Classification of Civil Liability Types

Surveys the main categories: contractual, extra-contractual, strict, and vicarious liability. Classification determines applicable rules and available defenses.

Lesson 2 • Sources of Civil Liability Obligations

Maps the legal sources from which liability obligations arise, including statute, contract, and general principles. Provides the normative landscape students will navigate throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Core Elements of a Liability Claim

Identifies the four foundational elements: fault, damage, causation, and unlawfulness. Understanding these elements is prerequisite to analysing any civil liability scenario.

Lesson 1 • Duty of Care and Its Scope

Examines when a legal duty to avoid harm arises and the limits of that duty. Connects duty analysis to foreseeability and proximity of harm.

Lesson 2 • The Reasonable-Person Standard

Introduces the objective benchmark used to evaluate whether conduct fell below acceptable norms. Applies the standard to professional and non-professional actors.

Lesson 3 • Intentional Fault Versus Negligence

Distinguishes deliberate wrongdoing from careless conduct and explains how each affects liability and remedies. Sets the analytical baseline for fault assessment.

Lesson 4 • Defenses to Fault-Based Claims

Surveys defences that negate or reduce fault liability, including consent, assumption of risk, and contributory negligence. Prepares students to construct and counter defensive arguments.

Lesson 1 • Quantifying and Proving Damage

Teaches methods for calculating compensation, including actuarial tables, medical reports, and lost-earnings models. Addresses the evidentiary requirements for each damage category.

Lesson 2 • Legal Causation and Remoteness

Introduces the policy-based limits on liability through remoteness and foreseeability of damage. Distinguishes factual from legal causation to prevent unlimited liability.

Lesson 3 • Causation in Complex Scenarios

Addresses causation challenges in toxic torts, medical malpractice, and multi-defendant cases. Equips students with probabilistic and market-share causation tools.

Lesson 4 • Types and Classification of Damage

Catalogues compensable damage types: patrimonial, non-patrimonial, personal injury, and pure economic loss. Classification determines the scope and method of compensation.

Lesson 1 • Product Liability Doctrine

Covers liability of manufacturers and distributors for defective products causing harm. Analyses design, manufacturing, and warning defects as distinct liability triggers.

Lesson 2 • Liability for Hazardous Activities

Addresses strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities and the conditions triggering it. Applies the doctrine to industrial, chemical, and technological operations.

Lesson 3 • Defenses Under Strict Liability

Identifies defences available in strict liability claims, including state-of-the-art, assumption of risk, and third-party fault. Prepares students to advise defendants in no-fault contexts.

Lesson 4 • No-Fault Compensation Schemes

Surveys statutory no-fault systems in traffic accidents, workplace injuries, and medical harm. Compares their structure and coverage with delict-based compensation.

Lesson 1 • Managing Organisational Liability Risk

Provides practical strategies for reducing organisational exposure through compliance programmes, supervision, and contractual allocation. Bridges doctrine to risk management practice.

Lesson 2 • Liability of Public Authorities

Examines when governmental and public bodies incur civil liability for acts or omissions of their officials. Addresses immunity doctrines and their erosion.

Lesson 3 • Corporate and Entity Liability

Analyses how corporations and other legal entities incur civil liability for acts of their officers and agents. Addresses piercing the corporate veil in liability contexts.

Lesson 4 • Employer Liability for Employee Acts

Establishes when employers bear liability for delicts committed by employees in the course of employment. Analyses the scope-of-employment test and its boundaries.

Lesson 1 • Injunctive and Non-Monetary Relief

Covers interdicts, declaratory relief, and specific performance as alternatives or supplements to damages. Addresses the conditions for granting equitable remedies.

Lesson 2 • Non-Patrimonial Damage Compensation

Addresses compensation for pain and suffering, loss of amenity, and emotional distress. Examines judicial approaches to valuing intangible harm.

Lesson 3 • Apportionment and Contribution

Addresses how liability and damages are divided among multiple defendants and between claimant and defendant. Covers joint and several liability and contribution rights.

Lesson 4 • Compensatory Damages: Principles

Establishes the restitutio in integrum principle as the foundation of compensatory damages. Distinguishes general from special damages and their respective proof requirements.

Lesson 1 • Medical and Healthcare Liability

Analyses liability of healthcare providers for malpractice, informed consent failures, and institutional negligence. Addresses the standard of care in medical practice.

Lesson 2 • Environmental and Ecological Liability

Addresses civil liability for environmental damage, including pollution, contamination, and biodiversity harm. Covers both private and public enforcement mechanisms.

Lesson 3 • Digital and Cyber Liability

Examines liability arising from data breaches, cyberattacks, and harmful online content. Applies traditional liability doctrine to digital actors and platforms.

Lesson 4 • Professional Liability Across Sectors

Covers liability of lawyers, accountants, engineers, and other professionals for negligent advice or services. Examines the elevated standard of care applied to professionals.

Lesson 1 • Evidence Gathering and Disclosure

Addresses the collection, preservation, and disclosure of evidence in civil liability cases. Covers expert retention, document discovery, and witness preparation.

Lesson 2 • Case Assessment and Intake

Teaches systematic evaluation of a potential civil liability claim, including merits, quantum, and litigation risk. Establishes the analytical framework used throughout the litigation lifecycle.

Lesson 3 • Trial Advocacy in Liability Cases

Develops courtroom skills specific to civil liability trials, including opening statements, cross-examination, and closing arguments. Focuses on persuasive presentation of technical evidence.

Lesson 4 • Pleading and Framing the Claim

Covers drafting effective pleadings that clearly allege each liability element and the relief sought. Addresses common pleading defects and how to avoid them.