Personal Injury Newsletters

The Death on the High Seas Act

In 1920, the United States Congress enacted the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA). Originally, the purpose of DOHSA was to help the widows of seamen who died in accidents at sea. Under DOHSA, a widow could file a wrongful death action against the seaman's employer or the owner of the vessel on which the seaman was working at the time of his death. The scope of the DOHSA has been greatly expanded since its enactment.

Interference With a Prospective Advantage

A person may have an expectation that he will be entering into a contract or a relationship with another party or parties for a financial benefit in the future, and a defendant may interfere with that prospective advantage. If the defendant unlawfully does so, the injured party may bring an action against him.

Opinion and Other Defenses to Defamation

Defamation lawsuits are not easy to win because the plaintiff must both prove the difficult elements of his or her case and avoid the many defenses to defamation. This article discusses some of the standard defenses to defamation, including the defense of opinion.

The Sudden Emergency Doctrine

Under the "sudden emergency doctrine," a person is not liable for his reasonable response to a sudden emergency, so long as the person did not create the emergency. The sudden emergency doctrine may be used as a defense to a personal injury action.

More Tort Law Versus Criminal Law

Apart from legislation granting a right to sue for a specific harm, personal injury law generally consists of tort law and the civil procedure for enforcing it. This article discusses some of the distinctions between tort law and criminal law, beyond criminal law's focus on the criminal and tort law's focus on the financial harm suffered by the victim.