The Word For.....

[merton69]

When you make someone aware of something dangerous they own, they become legally responsible.

What is the word for it please?

[merton69]

That should have said...

"Should this happen without the local government made aware then they aren't liable."

[Mamyalynne]

Along these lines?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_to_warn

[Orderlimit]

prob easier to say they have a duty of care

[BlackadderV]

They are liable for any damage/injury regardless. Proof of prior notification would be an aggravating factor in the award of any damages.

[mazie]

Onus ?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/onus

[BlackadderV]

Under certain circumstances, especially involving death, it could be classed as criminal negligence if the authority had been warned about the situation and failed to remedy it.

[wolf63]

Culpable or Culpability ?

[Ellipsis]

duty of care?

[Retrochic]

Surely if the fence is on their land they have a duty to maintain it? If it causes an accident due to lack of maintenance then they are liable. Why bother with fancy works? just write a letter to the council explaining the situation and follow it up with a phone call.

[merton69]

DiveBuddy: If I pull it down (as you say) and something goes wrong...I am to blame.

Retrochic: It may be fancy works (as you put it), but a) would like to do it correctly and b) would be nice to know what the word/terminology is anyway.

Thanks to all.

[BlackadderV]

None of the answers offered answer the question. As I understand it, OP is describing a situation wherein if the potential defendant has not been informed
then he is not liable, whereas if he has he becomes liable. I cannot think of any term to describe this, nor do I think it matters. Donohue v Stevenson is the classic foundation case for the tort of negligence; its principles are still valid today. If Barmaid, a current practitioner, is looking in, then she may be able to help further, but I, for one, I stumped.

[Retrochic]

merton, it should have read 'fancy words'. Say it how it is -ring up tell them in plain English if this bleeding fence doesn't get sorted someone is going to get hurt. I've found the guys who work in Highways and Maintenance tend to appreciate plain English. :-)

[excelsior-1]

accountable?

[factor-fiction]

I wondered if the term you are thinking of is 'duty of care' but it has already been suggested by Orderlimit, so you've probably discounted it

[BlackadderV]

As I understand it. what the OP is suggesting is that if someone who may be potentially negligent is not informed of that fact then he is not liable. The answer is a resounding NO, he is.

[woofgang]

But they are liable (legally responsible) anyway. There doesn't need to be a word for it because it makes no difference.

[boxtops]

I don't understand why you think that if they haven't been informed, they are not liable. They ARE liable, whether someone's pointed it out to them or not. They should be looking after their fence.

Insurance law says that if there is a reasonable expectation that harm could come to a third party due to a set of avoidable circumstances, the person who owns that thing and hasn't maintained it properly can be found negligent. It's the same with paving stones - there's a liability if a paving stone sticks up more than a given amount (it used to be an inch) and someone falls, whether or not the fault had been reported to the council before. If it had been reported and they'd done nothing about it, then that is almost certainly seen as negligence.

[BlackadderV]

What you call insurance law is merely the basic tort of negligence to which I referred @ 19.18