ABSTRACT
In relation to your nursing practice, you would see civil law dealing with actions in ‘tort’, which are civil wrongs. Here, a person’s pre-existing legal right must have been breached, and disputes can occur between individuals, between individuals and organisations or between two organisations. A person in these instances brings action against another person or organisation because the person has suffered loss or personal harm. The person suffering the loss or harm would be known as the claimant, and the person or organisation against which the claim is made is known as the defendant. This type of dispute usually results in compensation being awarded to a ‘victim’ or claimant. You would see this type of case referred to using the names of the two parties involved, for example, Black v. Baillie or Black v. Neverland NHS Foundation Trust. The commonest form of tort that you may encounter is negligence, which may arise as a result of a breach of confidentiality or failure to gain consent. Negligence is discussed in greater detail in a separate section of this chapter.
