Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • A Factored Negligence Formula

    Uploaded by

    Matthew Leaper
    696 views1 page
    There is a general reservation about utilizing the hard sciences to influence legal decisions. One consistent point of opposition is the inequity that can result from applying rigid, artificial rules to persistently human fact patterns. Thus, in majority, the law has worked to establish standards, often guided by rules, as a flexible alternative. The negligence formula outlined by Judge Learned Hand is a rule that has been utilized to establish a duty of care in tort law. As noted below, the variables within the Hand formula have been applied liberally to account for a wide range of public policy considerations that often modify the underlying mathematical logic. This post is a placeholder for a future essay advocating that the objectivity and value of the Hand formula can be increased by utilizing hard science to calculate the variables and social science to modify the result.

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    There is a general reservation about utilizing the hard sciences to influence legal decisions. One consistent point of opposition is the inequity that can result from applying rigid, artificial rules to persistently human fact patterns. Thus, in majority, the law has worked to establish standards, often guided by rules, as a flexible alternative. The negligence formula outlined by Judge Learned Hand is a rule that has been utilized to establish a duty of care in tort law. As noted below, the variables within the Hand formula have been applied liberally to account for a wide range of public policy considerations that often modify the underlying mathematical logic. This post is a placeholder for a future essay advocating that the objectivity and value of the Hand formula can be increased by utilizing hard science to calculate the variables and social science to modify the result.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    696 views1 page

    A Factored Negligence Formula

    Uploaded by

    Matthew Leaper
    There is a general reservation about utilizing the hard sciences to influence legal decisions. One consistent point of opposition is the inequity that can result from applying rigid, artificial rules to persistently human fact patterns. Thus, in majority, the law has worked to establish standards, often guided by rules, as a flexible alternative. The negligence formula outlined by Judge Learned Hand is a rule that has been utilized to establish a duty of care in tort law. As noted below, the variables within the Hand formula have been applied liberally to account for a wide range of public policy considerations that often modify the underlying mathematical logic. This post is a placeholder for a future essay advocating that the objectivity and value of the Hand formula can be increased by utilizing hard science to calculate the variables and social science to modify the result.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 1

    THE

     FACTORED  NEGLIGENCE  FORMULA  


    Ma2hew  Leaper  ©  2010  

    If B < Φ ∗P ∗M, then duty.


    Burden  of  PrevenPon:  minimum   Probability  of  Damages:   Magnitude  of  Damages:  
    amount  of  spending  required  to   es#mated  from  the  fact   es#mated  from  the  fact  
    avoid  damages  (and,  thus,  liability   pa/ern  via  probability   pa/ern  with  actuarial  science,  
    for  negligence);  either  calculated   theory  or  derived  from   i.e.,  same  principles  used  to  
    from  the  formula  or  known.       empirical  data.       calculate  insurance  premiums.    

    Public  Interest  Factor  (Phi):  tabulated  ‘factor  of  safety2’  derived  from  the  
    administra#ve,  common,  and  statutory  law  applicable  to  the  fact  pa/ern.  

    RaPonale:  the  variables  in  tradi#onal  negligence  formula3  are  oDen  modified  to  account  for  public  
    policy  interests1.    The  value  of  the  modifica#ons  can  be  derived  from  the  decisions  that  se/le  each  
    unique  fact  pa/ern.      Tabula#ng  these  values  into  anonymous  ‘factors  of  safety’  for  applica#on  to  
    analogous  fact  pa/erns  will  promote  economic  efficiency4  by  helping  decision  makers  to  act  in  
    accordance  with  the  evolving  expecta#ons  of  the  law.    
    1.  Cf.  Restatement  (Second)  of  Torts  §291-­‐293    
    2.  Essen#ally,  a  ra#o  of  how  much  stronger  a  thing  is  than  it  needs  to  be.  
    3.  See  United  States  v.  Carroll  Towing  Co.,  159  F.2d  169  (2nd  Cir.  1947)  
    4.  See  Theory  of  Negligence,  1  J.  Legal  Stud.  29  (1972)  

    You might also like