accidents and injuries

Definition

An instruction given by a court to a deadlocked jury to encourage it to continue deliberating until it reaches a verdict. Some states prohibit Allen charges, because they deem them coercive, but the U.S. Supreme Court upheld their use in Allen v. U.S., 164 U.S. 492 (1896).

Definition

An activity or process that presents an unavoidable risk of serious harm to the other people or others’ property, for which the actor may be held strictly liable for the harm, even if the actor has exercised reasonable care to prevent that harm.

Definition

An instruction given by a court to a deadlocked jury to encourage it to continue deliberating until it reaches a verdict. Also called Allen charge, dynamite charge, nitroglycerine charge, and shotgun charge.

Definition

An instruction given by a court to a deadlocked jury to encourage it to continue deliberating until it reaches a verdict. Also called Allen charge, dynamite charge, nitroglycerine charge, and third-degree instruction.

Definition

[Latin: “things done” or “thing transacted”] The events or circumstances at issue, as well as other events that are contemporaneous with or related to them. Courts previously employed this term in order to admit otherwise inadmissible hearsay. The term has since been put to disuse by scholars and legislators.

Definition

A rule that says that the owner of a domesticated animal (e.g., a dog) will be held strictly liable for injuries caused by the animal only if the owner knew or should have known about the animal’s dangerous or vicious propensities, which have been manifested in the past.

Definition

A federal statute (46 U.S.C. § 688) that extends the Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA) to seamen. The Act enables seamen who have been injured at sea during the course of their employment to bring a personal injury action against their employers.

Under the Jones Act, the plaintiff may bring an action in federal district court or in state court.
The defendant is not entitled to remove the case from a state court to federal court.

Definition

An instruction given by a court to a deadlocked jury to encourage it to continue deliberating until it reaches a verdict. Also called Allen charge, nitroglycerine charge, shotgun charge, and third-degree instruction. 

Definition

An insurance agreement to pay for freight that has been lost or damaged in transit, whether by land, air, or sea.

Definition

A dangerous condition on a landowner’s property that may attract children onto the land and may involve risk or harm to their safety.