ERM Paper: Week Three
Team A
LAW/531
October 8, 2012
Susan Purvin

Introduction

Negligence and Toxic Tort
The company of Alumina, Inc. is accused of being responsible for Bates’s daughter’s leukemia. The tort that is referenced in this case is a case of toxic tort. Toxic tort is a unique situation in which cases are merging as lawsuits are brought on to companies where plaintiffs believe that sickness and health related problems are caused from negligence from these companies. The plaintiff, Bates, is accusing Alumina Inc. that they neglected to act on a previous complaint that occurred five years prior and that the negligent actions of not correcting the problem is a direct cause of her daughters illness. The leukemia was essentially caused by a chemical and because a toxic tort case is a tort in which a prosecuting party claims that there was an injury or death caused by a chemical, this case violates a toxic tort and is considered one in a lawsuit. Toxic tort cases have been helping prosecuting parties win settlements through litigation against large companies, especially because tobacco companies started to lose cases brought on to them. Toxic tort cases give plaintiffs a chance against large companies to win through litigation which in the past these large corporations had massive amounts of money for lawyers and attorneys to defend against a single individual. More times than not, these individuals are just an average blue collar workers that have suffered from an illness in the line of work. Team A feels that the plaintiff in the simulation has a good chance to win a lawsuit against Alumina Inc. by way of toxic tort. If the prosecuting party can stir up enough evidence from the previous accusations of negligence against Alumina Inc. and relate the leukemia the daughter has to them in present day; toxic tort can be used to produce a settlement for punitive and future damages. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) has become so much an interest area for entrepreneurs and management as a whole because of the unpredictable nature of the world, limited resources, frequent business failures and the existence of innovation in the business world. As defined by the New Oxford American dictionary, “enterprise” as a project or undertaking, typically difficult and requires effort.” This indicates that enterprise can be a start-up or already existing company that needs so much commitment and sacrifice to ensure growth. Human life is risk so are businesses. An entrepreneur who can withstand business risk will always achieve success. Risk as a situation or event causes tremendous harm on business growth most of which leads to business failure. The adoption of effective methodologies and terminologies by management to handle both foreseeable and unforeseeable hazardous situations for enterprises is termed as enterprise risk management (ERM). For instance if an entrepreneur decides to build a hotel by the sea side, he is risking business because he knows that there is the possibility for the sea to take away the building one day. Knowing this, there is the need for him to put possible measures to control this situation as much as he can. He can decide to build the structure with stronger materials so that such a situation is controlled if not prevented. Looking at Exxon Valdez situation in 1989, an issue of negligence putting business in to so much difficulty at that time never had existing measures to take care of such situation making it worse by destructing both aquatic and human life.
Identifying the Seven (7) Step Process of Enterprise Risk Management
Stating the process is to know what enterprise risk management is in relationship to the contract process or validity. Enterprise risk management is a means of assessing and addressing risk from sources that threaten the achievement of the organization’s objectives. ERM manages risk, opportunities in one systematic,