Memo – Possible Civil and Criminal Liability Claims against BlueTherapy

Name:

Institution:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memo – Possible Civil and Criminal Liability Claims against BlueTherapy

To: Regional Director

From: The Manager

Date: October 1, 2017

Subject: Possible civil and criminal liability claims against BlueTherapy

An individual or an organization can either face criminal or civil liability depending on the nature of the mistake. Criminal liability refers to an action where the state is in charge of the prosecution following the stipulated penal code. Criminal liability, as it comes out in the paper by Diskant (2008) has an effect on the society, and the offender faces a jail term or fine. Civil liability is entirely different because liability does not follow the state’s criminal code. The person facing liability, in this case, may pay the penalty based on the agreement by the plaintiff. BlueTherapy may face both civil and criminal liability claims that may arise from different parties based on the events that happen in the recent past.

The organization is likely to face criminal responsibility from the city’s governing body because of its failure to clear the sidewalks within two hours of any storm, a situation that leads to Clara’s accident. The prosecutor, in this case, will refer to the city’s law that makes it mandatory to make the sidewalks clear during heavy storms. BlueTherapy is also likely to face criminal liability for allowing Rocky to drive without a license with the case expected to get worse when the court realizes of his over speeding on slippery roads. The court may charge Rocky with either class A infraction or Class 1 misdemeanor which under the Colorado traffic law call for a fine of $15-100 or $300-1000 respectively (Colorado General Assembly, n.a). Furthermore, the institution may face criminal liability because of Rocky’s assault of a police officer. The assault case is expected to carry a heavy criminal penalty bearing in mind that the officer lost some teeth from the confrontation.

Apart from the criminal liabilities BlueTherapy may face following the recent occurrences; the institution may be responsible for civil liabilities. Clara may decide to bring the matter before the court charging the health and fitness center for negligence that caused her the first accident. The plaintiff will prove based on the Colorado statute on negligence that the act caused injury and that they must suffer as a result of the incident (Enjuris, 2017). The employee (Clara) may also decide to open a civil case against Rocky for driving while under the influence of marijuana which caused an accident leading to the breakage of her other arm. Anny may also bring a case against Rocky for causing her bodily harm and damaging her car, and the chances are high that the enterprise may face civil liability regarding the accident and its consequences. The court may rule that even though Rocky is directly responsible for the damage, the institution should face some penalties for allowing the service provider to drive in an intoxicated state. The most probable scenario, in this case, is that the organization may take charge of the medical bills, and may even cover the damage cost for Anny’s automobile.

The management must address these occurrences as urgent and come up with ways of responding in case of any summons. The best way to approach the matter would be to consider the criminal and civil liabilities as different entities because they may have consequences that vary in nature. Failing to make earlier plans may have devastating effects once the victims file a case in the court of law.

Sincerely,

Manager, BlueTherapy.

 

References

Colorado General Assembly. (n.a). Penalties for speeding violations. Retrieved from https://leg.colorado.gov/content/penalties-speeding-violations

Diskant, E. (2008). Comparative corporate criminal liability: Exploring the uniquely American doctrine through comparative criminal procedure. The Yale Law Journal, 118(126), 126-176.

Enjuris. (2017). Establishing negligence in a Colorado personal injury case. Retrieved from https://www.enjuris.com/colorado/personal-injury-guide/establishing-negligence.html