DOCSLIB.ORG

Juris Doctrines

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Juris Doctrines JURIS DOCTRINES Learning Esoteric Law BY GARY COHEN he law consists of a number of legal person to interpret the meaning of doubtful exhaust their classes. doctrines, the most fundamental of words by referring to the meaning of sur- Applying ejusdem generis to the hypo- which are taught in law school. But rounding words.3 thetical involving the Does, they are proba- as we all know, there is more to law Arizona courts have applied ejusdem bly not covered by their insurance policy. practice than the basic. What about generis to assist in interpreting statutes, con- The specific enumerated list of items in the Tthe more esoteric doctrines, the ones that tracts and insurance policies. There must be policy provision at issue includes types of may catch you unawares and leave you—and an enumeration of items before ejusdem insects. Thus phrase “or the like” will prob- your client—scratching your head? generis will apply.4 Thus, a statute that allows ably not be construed to mean other insects. Typically, those esoteric doctrines are for an interlocutory appeal of judgment As a reptile, a rattlesnake is not considered an learned after handling a number of legal when all that is left to decide is the amount insect and is not similar in nature to the matters or by happenstance after going “off of recovery through “an accounting or objects listed. track” while conducting legal research. In an other proceeding” is not interpreted as lim- The Does’ insurer could have protected effort to help you avoid learning from the iting appeals to equitable proceedings. This itself by drafting a more carefully crafted list cruelest teacher, experience, here is what is because such a statute does not give a list- and including more general terms like you need to know about five esoteric legal ing of specific types of “other proceedings.”5 “birds, insects, vermin, domestic animals and doctrines. When general words are used after an enu- the like.” Because the specifically enumerat- meration of particular classes, these general ed terms exhaust their individual classes, EJUSDEM GENERIS words are interpreted as applying only to “the like” would, probably, include reptiles. John and Jane Doe live in a nice area classes or things of the same general type as between Phoenix and Tucson. They have a the enumerated classes.6 THE RESCUE DOCTRINE homeowner’s insurance policy with $1 mil- The reverse is also true: Where general The Acme Mining Company negligently lion in liability coverage. This policy has a words are followed by specific enumerated creates a tripping hazard that resulted in Mr. “losses-not-covered” provision that excludes terms, the general words are presumed to Jones falling into an open pit. Ms. Smith, a coverage for damages caused by, directly or include only things of the same nature as the witness to the fall, tries to rescue Jones. Ms. indirectly, “scorpions, termites, fleas, roach- enumerated terms.7 For example, where a Smith is, herself, injured during the rescue es, wasps or the like.” contract states “including” followed by a list attempt. Is Acme Mining Company liable to While the Does are giving a party, a rat- of specifically enumerated objects, “includ- Ms. Smith? The answer is probably “yes” if tlesnake makes its way into their living room ing” only encompasses objects that are similar the “rescue doctrine” applies. and bites a guest, causing her great injury. in nature to those objects specifically listed.8 The rescue doctrine is based on the idea The guest sues the Does. Does the home- Ejusdem generis does not apply where the that “the attempted rescue of a person in owner’s insurance policy provide coverage specific words enumerated embrace all danger is always foreseeable.”12 If a tortfea- to John and Jane for this claim? objects of their class such that without a dif- sor’s negligence causes one to need rescue, The answer is probably “no” if the ejus- ferent meaning the general words have no then the tortfeasor is also negligent to the dem generis doctrine is applied. This Latin meaning at all.9 For example, where a board attempted rescuer and liable for injuries sus- terms means “of the same kind or class.”1 It of directors is authorized in the corporate by- tained in a reasonable rescue attempt.13 is a “canon of construction that when a gen- laws to use its funds to pay “office expenses, In Arizona, an injured rescuer may recov- eral word or phrase follows a list of specific salaries of employees and all other expenses er damages from the original tortfeasor that persons or things, the general word or incurred in carrying out its duties,” the negligently caused the event that necessitat- phrase will be interpreted to include only phrase “all other expenses” is interpreted to ed the rescue, notwithstanding that the persons or things of the same type as those mean expenses that are not “office expenses” immediate cause of the injury may be an listed.”2 Ejusdem generis should not be con- or “salaries of employees,” because “office intervening act by someone else.14 Even if fused with noscitur a sociis, which allows a expenses” and “salaries of employees” the negligent party originally endangered no encompass all the specific objects within their one but himself, he owes a duty of care to respective classes.10 The same is true of an the rescuer and is liable for any injuries the Gary Cohen is a partner at Mesch, Clark & Rothschild, P.C., in Tucson. His practice emphasizes personal injury, insurance policy that covers an automobile rescuer suffers as a result of a rescue medical malpractice defense, civil rights, employment law damaged in a collision with another “auto- attempt.15 and appeals. mobile, vehicle or object.”11 The term There are three exceptions to the rescue “object” is interpreted to have a meaning dif- doctrine: The author thanks Mary Beth Canty and David ferent from that of “automobile” or “vehi- • Where the rescue attempt is unreason- Hindman for their help researching and editing this article. cle” or it is meaningless; the preceding terms able or the rescuer acts unreasonably in 26 ARIZONA ATTORNEY JULY/AUGUST 2006 www.myazbar.org the course of performing it • Where the rescuer has himself brought about or helped to bring about the dan- gerous situation16 • If the “fireman’s rule” applies17 In the first two exceptions the rescuer may be guilty of contributory negligence. Contributory negligence is usually a ques- tion of fact for a jury to decide.18 Thus, for example, a jury could find that a rescuer was not guilty of contributory negligence when he saw another person caught on a bare, “hot” electrical wire, with flames coming out of his neck, and twice attempted a res- cue that subsequently killed the would-be rescuer.19 With regard to the third exception, most attorneys are familiar with the fireman’s rule. This rule precludes firemen and police offi- cers (“rescue personnel”) from suing a neg- ligent person for creating a situation necessi- tating the fireman’s or police officer’s servic- es. The fireman’s rule only applies to on- duty rescue personnel in emergency or res- cue situations and is based on the rescue per- sonnel’s professional and trained ability to determine whether to proceed.20 Because rescue personnel are hired and trained to help in emergency situations, they “cannot complain of negligence in the creation of the very occasion for [their] engagement.”21 The rescue doctrine “recognizes the nat- ural human impulse to aid others in distress and rewards this impulse by including its manifestation within the realm of the fore- seeable results of a negligent act.”22 A recent Arizona case held that the fire- man’s rule does not apply to an off-duty fire- man or police officer undertaking a rescue as a true volunteer and not under an employ- ment mandate to render aid. This holding “serves the significant policy of encouraging professionals otherwise under no obligation to provide their expertise where it may make a life-saving difference.”23 But rescue efforts must be reasonable *And other and undertaken reasonably. It may not be legal pitfalls prudent to jump into a lake to save a drown- ing man if you don’t know how to swim. In the aforementioned Acme Mining Company hypothetical, the company could JULY/AUGUST 2006 ARIZONA ATTORNEY 27 JURIS DOCTRINES be liable to the rescuer, Ms. Smith, for her the plaintiff approximately two weeks before responsible for injuries caused by the ani- injuries. It depends, however, on whether he filed suit.28 The court held that these facts mal.34 In addition, although courts may Ms. Smith acted reasonably in her rescue were exactly what the “hot potato” doctrine impose a duty on a landowner for negligent attempt or was the person who created the was designed to prevent, and it disqualified acts causing injury from wild animals, in danger. And it may depend on whether any the law firm.29 practice few courts have imposed such a additional rescuer was on duty at the time of No Arizona courts have specifically duty.35 the attempted rescue. applied the hot potato rule. It is clear, how- The doctrine tends to be applied only ever, that Arizona attorneys have a strong where the defendant could not reasonably THE HOT POTATO DOCTRINE duty of loyalty to their clients. For example, have foreseen an injury or protected against Attorney Howie is about to land a new in In re Shano, the Arizona Court of Appeals it.36 The Arizona Court of Appeals recently client, Big Industrial Giant (“BIG”).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Wide World of Torts: Reviewing Franklin & Rabin's Tort Law And
    CASEBOOK REVIEW The Wide World of Torts: Reviewing Franklin & Rabin's Tort Law and Alternatives Bernard W. Bell* Tort Law and Alternatives authored by Stanford Law School pro- fessors Marc Franklin and Robert Rabin, and recently released in its Seventh Edition, continues to serve as an excellent casebook.' To paraphrase the introduction to the American Broadcasting Company's popular sports anthology, the Wide World of Sports, the casebook spans the country2 to bring students the constant variety of tort litiga- tion.3 Tort law is, in a sense, very traditional-late 19th and early 20th century caselaw provides much of its foundation and many of the ba- sic doctrines have long been settled. At the same time, tort law un- dergoes continuous metamorphosis. Franklin and Rabin have man- aged to maintain a good balance between the old chestnuts, such as * Professor, Rutgers Law School (Newark). I attended Stanford Law School (Class of 1981) and was a student in Marc Franklin's Torts class. 1. MARC A. FRANKLIN & ROBERT L. RABIN, TORT LAW AND ALTERNATIVES: CASES AND MATERIALS (7th ed. 2001). 2. In earlier editions of the casebook, the authors predominantly used cases from New York and California state courts. With each edition, the authors have progressively added geographic variety so that the principal cases increasingly come from jurisdictions other than New York and California. In the seventh edition, the authors have added cases from jurisdictions whose cases were not represented among those featured as principal cases in the sixth edition. Id. at 18 (Utah), 24 (Texas), 95 (Florida), 110 (Rhode Island), 186 (Washington), 198 (Nebraska), 207 (Louisiana), 215 (Arizona), 359 (New Mexico), 399, 917 (Iowa), 452 (Oklahoma), 476 (South Carolina), 632 (New Hampshire), 876 (North Dakota).
    [Show full text]
  • Of Rescue and Report: Should Tort Law Impose a Duty to Help Endangered Persons Or Abused Children? Marc A
    Santa Clara Law Review Volume 40 | Number 4 Article 3 1-1-2000 Of Rescue and Report: Should Tort Law Impose a Duty to Help Endangered Persons or Abused Children? Marc A. Franklin Matthew loP eger Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/lawreview Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Marc A. Franklin and Matthew Ploeger, Symposium, Of Rescue and Report: Should Tort Law Impose a Duty to Help Endangered Persons or Abused Children?, 40 Santa Clara L. Rev. 991 (2000). Available at: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/lawreview/vol40/iss4/3 This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Santa Clara Law Review by an authorized administrator of Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. OF RESCUE AND REPORT: SHOULD TORT LAW IMPOSE A DUTY TO HELP ENDANGERED PERSONS OR ABUSED CHILDREN? Marc A. Franklin* & Matthew Ploeger** I. INTRODUCTION This essay explores whether a civil duty to rescue' should be imposed on a person who has the apparent ability to save another person or to prevent that person from entering a po- sition of peril.2 It also examines the related question of * Frederick I. Richman Professor, Stanford Law School. LL.B., Cornell Law School; A.B., Cornell University. A version of this essay was presented at the Santa Clara Law Review Symposium, Law, Ethics, and the Good Samari- tan, held at Santa Clara University School of Law on March 24, 2000.
    [Show full text]
  • Proximate Cause Risks That Make Defendant Negligent Other Risks
    Negligence – Prima Facie Case • D owed P a Legal Duty • Breach of Duty • Actual Damages • Factual Cause • Proximate Cause Risks that Make Defendant Negligent Other Risks A ? B ? Harm ? D ? C Determining Breach of Duty 1) Would reasonable person have foreseen a risk of harm [to someone]? – If no, then not negligent – If yes, move on to #2 2) Would reasonable person have taken steps to avoid or minimize the risk (identified in #1)? – If no, then not negligent – If yes, then negligent Element Modern Framework (Thompson) Palsgraff (Cardozo) D owes everyone, including P, a D owes P a duty only if: D’s Duty duty of ordinary care conduct creates an unreasonable, foreseeable risk to P • D’s conduct creates a reasonably • D failed to act as a reasonable Breach of foreseeable risk of harm and prudent person would • Reasonable and prudent person Duty would seek to minimize or eliminate this risk • D failed to do so Proximate • D’s conduct creates a N/A Cause foreseeable risk to P • A reasonable and prudent person would seek to minimize or eliminate the risk to P Proximate Cause – Scope of Risk Harm w/in scope of risk if: Reasonable person in similar circumstances would have 1) foreseen harm or risk (a) of same general type, and (b) to the general class of persons that includes the P; and 2) Taken greater precautions to avoid it than D took Multifactor Test (Palsgraf dissent) Proximate cause determined by balancing multiple factors: • Foreseeability of harm to P • Rough sense justice • D’s conduct a substantial factor in causing P’s harm • Natural
    [Show full text]
  • Torts—Contributory Negligence—The Rescue Doctrine, Hammonds V
    Washington University Law Review Volume 1955 Issue 4 January 1955 Torts—Contributory Negligence—The Rescue Doctrine, Hammonds v. Haven, 280 S.W.2d 814 (Mo. 1955) Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview Part of the Torts Commons Recommended Citation Torts—Contributory Negligence—The Rescue Doctrine, Hammonds v. Haven, 280 S.W.2d 814 (Mo. 1955), 1955 WASH. U. L. Q. 427 (1955). Available at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol1955/iss4/9 This Case Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Law Review by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMMENTS COMMENTS TORTS-CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE-THE RESCUE DOCTRINE Hammonds v. Haven, 280 S.W.2d 814 (Mo. 1955) While driving along a state highway on a dark, rainy evening plain- tiff encountered a tree, blown down during a rainstorm, which ob- structed the road. Parking his car beside the road, plaintiff prepared to warn approaching motorists of the danger. After failing in his at- tempts to warn one oncoming motorist from a position adjacent to the highway,1 plaintiff, upon sighting defendant approaching at a high rate of speed, stationed himself in the center of the road and, lacking other ready means of signaling, attempted to warn defendant by wav- ing his arms. As defendant neared the fallen tree plaintiff leaped to- ward the side of the road but was struck by defendant as the latter swerved to avoid a collision.
    [Show full text]
  • Moral Challenge to the Legal Doctrine of Rescue Gerald L
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by EngagedScholarship @ Cleveland State University Cleveland State University EngagedScholarship@CSU Cleveland State Law Review Law Journals 1965 Moral Challenge to the Legal Doctrine of Rescue Gerald L. Gordon Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev Part of the Torts Commons How does access to this work benefit oy u? Let us know! Recommended Citation Gerald L. Gordon, Moral Challenge to the Legal Doctrine of Rescue, 14 Clev.-Marshall L. Rev. 334 (1965) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at EngagedScholarship@CSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Cleveland State Law Review by an authorized editor of EngagedScholarship@CSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Moral Challenge to the Legal Doctrine of Rescue Gerald L. Gordon* . a certain man... fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite .. came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan * . came where he was... and went to him, and bound up his wounds... and set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn ... Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spend- est more, when I come again, I will repay thee... St. Luke 10: 30-351 T HE AGE-OLD DICHOTOMY between Anglo-American law and morality in one vital area of personal responsibility-the duty to aid one in dire peril-was revealingly demonstrated anew in the aftermath of the sordid Bronx events of March 13, 1964.
    [Show full text]
  • 1341 Hba Crj 21
    Washington State BILL House of Representatives Office of Program Research ANALYSIS Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee HB 1341 Brief Description: Concerning the professional rescue doctrine. Sponsors: Representatives Bronoske, Walen and Berry. Brief Summary of Bill • Abolishes the professional rescue doctrine that precludes a professional rescuer from recovering for injuries inherently within the scope of a particular rescue activity. • Provides that contractors and subcontractors of public service companies are liable for any loss, damage, or injury caused by a violation of state law or regulations. • Adds rescuers as a group to whom public service companies, their contractors, or subcontractors may be liable for loss, damage, or injury caused by a violation of state law or regulations. Hearing Date: 2/2/21 Staff: Yelena Baker (786-7301). Background: The Professional Rescue Doctrine. The general rule in Washington is that a person who is injured while rescuing or attempting to rescue another may recover from the party whose negligence created the need for rescue. Because professional rescuers assume certain risks as part of their profession, the general rule does not apply to them. Under the professional rescue doctrine, when a professional rescuer is injured by a known hazard This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent. House Bill Analysis - 1 - HB 1341 associated with a particular rescue activity, the rescuer may not recover from the party whose negligence caused the rescuer's presence at the scene. Where the negligent acts of multiple parties cause the public safety issue that necessitates the professional rescuer's presence, the doctrine bars recover from each of these parties.
    [Show full text]
  • Recovery by the Rescuer Edward A
    Louisiana Law Review Volume 28 | Number 4 June 1968 Recovery by the Rescuer Edward A. Kaplan Repository Citation Edward A. Kaplan, Recovery by the Rescuer, 28 La. L. Rev. (1968) Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev/vol28/iss4/8 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews and Journals at LSU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Louisiana Law Review by an authorized editor of LSU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1968] COMMENTS RECOVERY BY THE RESCUER The purpose of this Comment is to examine the approaches utilized in Louisiana and other jurisdictions to determine the liability of a rescued person, or a third person whose negligence necessitated the rescue, for death or injury to a rescuer. The leading cases have ignored both the quasi contract and nego- tiorum gestio theories, and have grounded their decisions exclu- sively on tort principles. INTRODUCTION Three basic situations may be distinguished in examining the rescue problem. First, there is the case where the defendant negligently imperils X or X's property, and plaintiff-rescuer, placed by defendant's negligence in the dilemma of choosing between his own safety and aiding X, chooses to intervene and is harmed. The majority rule is that the defendant who is negligent as to X is deemed to be negligent with relation to potential rescuers as a class-persons who, though not in a posi- tion of primary danger because of defendant's negligent conduct, may be stimulated to undertake a rescue which subjects them to perils created by defendant's negligent conduct.
    [Show full text]
  • Tort Law - the Doctrine of Independent Intervening Cause Does Not Apply in Cases of Multiple Acts of Negligence - Torres V
    Volume 30 Issue 2 Summer 2000 Summer 2002 Tort Law - The Doctrine of Independent Intervening Cause Does Not Apply in Cases of Multiple Acts of Negligence - Torres v. El Paso Electric Company Cynthia Loehr Recommended Citation Cynthia Loehr, Tort Law - The Doctrine of Independent Intervening Cause Does Not Apply in Cases of Multiple Acts of Negligence - Torres v. El Paso Electric Company, 30 N.M. L. Rev. 325 (2002). Available at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmlr/vol30/iss2/8 This Notes and Comments is brought to you for free and open access by The University of New Mexico School of Law. For more information, please visit the New Mexico Law Review website: www.lawschool.unm.edu/nmlr TORT LAW-The Doctrine of Independent Intervening Cause Does Not Apply in Cases of Multiple Acts of Negligence-Torres v. El Paso Electric Company I. INTRODUCTION In Torres v. El Paso Electric Company,' the New Mexico Supreme Court abolished the doctrine of independent intervening cause for multiple acts of negligence, including where a defendant and a plaintiff are both negligent.2 An independent intervening cause is "a cause which interrupts the natural sequence of events, turns aside their cause, prevents the natural and probable results of the original act or omission, and produces a different result, that could not have been reasonably foreseen."3 The Torrescourt concluded that the independent intervening cause instruction would "unduly emphasize" a defendant's attempts to shift fault and was "sufficiently repetitive" of that for proximate cause that
    [Show full text]
  • Application of the Fireman's Rule to Emergency Medical Tehnicians
    Journal of Contemporary Health Law & Policy (1985-2015) Volume 7 Issue 1 Article 20 1991 Empty Pockets: Application of the Fireman's Rule to Emergency Medical Tehnicians Stephen E. Ruscus Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.edu/jchlp Recommended Citation Stephen E. Ruscus, Empty Pockets: Application of the Fireman's Rule to Emergency Medical Tehnicians, 7 J. Contemp. Health L. & Pol'y 339 (1991). Available at: https://scholarship.law.edu/jchlp/vol7/iss1/20 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by CUA Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Contemporary Health Law & Policy (1985-2015) by an authorized editor of CUA Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EMPTY POCKETS: APPLICATION OF THE FIREMAN'S RULE TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS' Traumatic injuries-multiple fractures, crushed limbs, head injuries, blunt or penetrating traumas, tissue bums, cardiopulmonary arrest-kill an esti- mated 140,000 people each year. The annual cost of medical care services and lost productivity, resulting from such injuries, exceeds $155 billion.2 In the last fifteen years, a worthy adversary of trauma has arisen; Emergency Medical Services (EMS) substantially reduces the incidence of trauma death3 through an organized system of pre-hospital and hospital trauma 1. Emergency medical technicians (EMT's) are an essential link in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) chain. EMT's are trained to provide basic life support to trauma victims, stabilizing and transporting them to appropriate facilities as swiftly and safely as possible. For a statutory definition of both EMT's and another class of EMS personnel, paramedics, see infra note 107.
    [Show full text]
  • The Theory of Tort Doctrine and the Restatement (Third) of Torts
    Vanderbilt Law Review Volume 54 Issue 3 Issue 3 - Symposium: The John W. Wade Conference on the Third Restatement of Article 23 Torts 4-2001 The Theory of Tort Doctrine and the Restatement (Third) of Torts Keith N. Hylton Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vlr Part of the Torts Commons Recommended Citation Keith N. Hylton, The Theory of Tort Doctrine and the Restatement (Third) of Torts, 54 Vanderbilt Law Review 1413 (2001) Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vlr/vol54/iss3/23 This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Vanderbilt Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Vanderbilt Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholarship@Vanderbilt Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Theory of Tort Doctrine and the Restatement (Third) of Torts Keith N. Hylton* I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 1413 II. THE NEED FOR A POSITIVE THEORY OF TORT DOCTRINE ... 1414 III. EXTENDING THE POSITIVE FRAMEWORK FOR TORT D OCTRINE ........................................................................ 1418 A. The Economics and Law of Activity Levels ........... 1420 B. Some Immediate Applications .............................. 1423 IV. POSITIVE THEORY AND THE RESTATEMENT (THIRD) ......... 1424 A. Intentional Torts .................................................. 1424 B. Negligence ............................................................ 1428 C. D uty .....................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • SLIP OPINION (Not the Court’S Final Written Decision)
    NOTICE: SLIP OPINION (not the court’s final written decision) The opinion that begins on the next page is a slip opinion. Slip opinions are the written opinions that are originally filed by the court. A slip opinion is not necessarily the court’s final written decision. Slip opinions can be changed by subsequent court orders. For example, a court may issue an order making substantive changes to a slip opinion or publishing for precedential purposes a previously “unpublished” opinion. Additionally, nonsubstantive edits (for style, grammar, citation, format, punctuation, etc.) are made before the opinions that have precedential value are published in the official reports of court decisions: the Washington Reports 2d and the Washington Appellate Reports. An opinion in the official reports replaces the slip opinion as the official opinion of the court. The slip opinion that begins on the next page is for a published opinion, and it has since been revised for publication in the printed official reports. The official text of the court’s opinion is found in the advance sheets and the bound volumes of the official reports. Also, an electronic version (intended to mirror the language found in the official reports) of the revised opinion can be found, free of charge, at this website: https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports. For more information about precedential (published) opinions, nonprecedential (unpublished) opinions, slip opinions, and the official reports, see https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions and the information that is linked there. For the currFent opinion. , go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/clientsThis opinion/war waseports/.
    [Show full text]
  • Torts-Negligence-The Rescue Doctrine Held Inapplicable to Organ Transplant Cases
    CASE NOTES TORTS-NEGLIGENCE-THE RESCUE DOCTRINE HELD INAPPLICABLE TO ORGAN TRANSPLANT CASES In the case of Sirianni v. Anna,' the plaintiff is a kidney transplant donor and the mother of the adult, emancipated donee. The defendant physicians had negligently removed all kidney tissue from the donee during a previous surgical procedure. It is medically certain that the donee could not have lived long without kidney tissue; a kidney transplant was needed to save his life. The plaintiff volunteered one of her kidneys. The transplant was successful, and the donee continues to live some 4 years after the transplant operation. His malpractice suit against the de- fendant physicians was settled for a "substantial sum." The plaintiff, however, alleges that her health has been impaired by the loss of her kidney and therefore seeks damages on the theory that the de- fendants' negligence in removing her son's kidney tissue in the original surgery now constitutes a cause of action in her behalf. The court decided the issue "stripped of its emotionalism" against plain- tiff. Plaintiff's premeditated act did not reactivate the consummated negli- gence of defendants, and the court refused to invent a brand new cause of action outside the concepts of suable torts. The rescue doctrine was held to be inapplicable. In quoting Judge Car- dozo, "The risk of rescue, if only it be not wanton, is born on the occa- sion, ' 2 the court concluded that he used the word "wanton" synonymously with the word "willful." Since plaintiff's act was willful, voluntary and with full knowledge of the consequences, recovery was denied.3 Under the rescue doctrine a person may act to save his own property4 or the lives5 or property6 of others from peril created by the defendant's 1.
    [Show full text]