Also known as: substantial harms
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A degree of injury or loss that is grave or serious in nature and consequence rather than trivial or minor.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Santiago Sanchez discovers an intruder inside his garage at night. The intruder ignores a shouted warning and begins prying open a locked cabinet containing irreplaceable tools. Sanchez reasonably believes the intruder will cause substantial harm to the tools before any further request can be made, so he uses reasonable force to eject the intruder.
Seth Shapiro sees a trespasser slashing the tires on his parked delivery van. Shapiro reasonably concludes that substantial harm will be done to the physical condition of the van before any request to stop can be made, so he applies force to terminate the trespass.
Stella Shapiro faces an attacker who swings a metal pipe at her head. She knows the attacker’s prior blows have caused lasting impairment to others. Stella uses deadly force because she reasonably believes the attack threatens serious bodily harm that differs in kind from ordinary injury.
Sylvia Santos operates a religious facility that sacrifices animals in a residential neighborhood. City officials determine the practice creates substantial harm through odor and waste that affects dozens of nearby homes. The city enacts a narrowly tailored ordinance addressing only that harm while leaving other religious conduct untouched.
Simon Stern and his spouse refuse medical care for their gravely ill child despite clear signs of deterioration. Their failure to act creates a high likelihood that substantial harm will result to the child. The omission supports an involuntary manslaughter charge under the wanton or reckless conduct standard.
Sebastian Santos receives a medical device later shown to present an unreasonable risk of substantial harm. The manufacturer had already received reports of similar failures. Federal regulations allow the agency to order repair, replacement, or recall when substantial harm to public health is threatened.
Substantial harm refers to grave injury or loss that justifies defensive force without a prior request. Serious bodily harm is a subset describing consequences so grave they differ in kind from ordinary injury, such as those creating a substantial risk of death or permanent loss of function.
Supporting sources
…restricts only conduct protected by the First Amendment and fails to enact feasible measures to restrict other conduct producing substantial harm or alleged harm of the same sort, the interest given in justification of the restriction is not compelling. It is established in our strict scrutiny jurisprudence that "a law cannot be…
…FDA authority to order certain remedial action if, inter alia , it concludes that a device "presents an unreasonable risk of substantial harm
…because the intentional failure of each to seek medical attention for their son involved such "a high degree of likelihood that substantial harm
…studies that identified on-the-job alcohol and drug use by railroad employees). Likewise, the need to prevent and deter the
…the same as in cases where there has been misconduct by the jury. The verdict is not upset for such a cause, if there was no substantial harm
Substantial harm occurs when intentional interference destroys or renders unusable the only copy of proprietary software or other unique chattel. That level of harm supports recovery of the full value of the chattel rather than repair costs or nominal damages.
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The lawyer must reasonably believe the client faces substantial physical, financial, or other harm and cannot adequately act in her own interest. An extreme undervaluation of the client’s only significant asset based on a fixed delusion satisfies the threshold.
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Yes. Courts require that the interference with a right common to the general public cause substantial harm. Minor or trifling interference does not qualify even if the activity occurs repeatedly.
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An improper threat that would cause substantial harm to the recipient and confer no significant benefit on the threatening party renders the resulting contract voidable. The harm must extend beyond ordinary commercial pressure and leave the recipient with no reasonable alternative.
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