Proportional Liability: Analytical and Comparative Perspectives / / ed. by Michael D. Green, Bernhard A. Koch, Israel Gilead.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DGBA Backlist Complete English Language 2000-2014 PART1
• MitwirkendeR: Askeland, Bjarte,; Bagińska, Ewa,; Bloch Ehlers, Andreas,; Comandé, Giovanni,; Dacoronia, Eugenia,; Gilead, Israel,; Green, Michael D.,; Hrádek, Jiří,; Keirse, Anne L.M.,; Koch, Bernhard A.,; Magnus, Ulrich,; Martín-Casals, Miquel,; Moréteau, Olivier,; Neethling, Johann,; Nocco, Luca,; Oliphant, Ken,; Shnoor, Boaz,; Solé, Josep,; Tichý, Luboš,; Ulfbeck, Vibe,; Widmer, Pierre,; Winiger, Bénédict,
• HerausgeberIn: Gilead, Israel,; Green, Michael D.,; Koch, Bernhard A.,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter, , [2013]; ©2013
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Series: Tort and Insurance Law ; 33
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (376 p.)

Causal uncertainty is a wide-spread phenomenon. Courts are often unable to determine whether a defendant’s tortious conduct was a factual cause of a plaintiff’s harm. Yet, sometimes courts can determine the probability that the defendant caused the plaintiff’s harm, although often there is considerable variance in the probability estimate based on the available evidence. The conventional way to cope with this uncertainty has been to apply the evidentiary rule of ‘standard of proof’. The application of this ‘all or nothing’ rule can lead to unfairness by absolving defendants who acted tortiously and may also create undesirable incentives that result in greater wrongful conduct and injustice to victims. Some courts have decided that this ‘no-liability’ outcome is undesirable. They have adopted rules of proportional liability that compensate plaintiffs according to the probability that their harm was caused by the defendant’s tortious conduct. In 2005 the Principles of European Tort Law (PETL) made a breakthrough in this regard by embracing rules of proportional liability. This project, building on PETL, endeavours to make further inquiries into the desirable scope of proportional liability and to offer a more detailed view of its meaning, implications, and ramifications.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Preface -- Table of Contents -- General Report Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability: Analytical and Comparative Report -- Country Reports -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in Austria -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in the Czech Republic -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in Denmark -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in England and Wales -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in France -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in Germany -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in Greece -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in Israel -- Proportional Liability in Uncertain Settings: Is it Precautionary? Italian Insights and Comparative Policy Considerations -- Going Dutch: How to Address Cases of Causal Uncertainty -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in Norway -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in Poland -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in South Africa -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in Spain -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in Switzerland -- Causal Uncertainty and Proportional Liability in the US -- List of Contributors -- Index