BLAW Chapter 7

The ______ (Second) of Torts, recognizing the "_______ " nature of proximate cause determinations, suggests that negligent defendants should not be liable for injuries that appear to be "highly extraordinary."

Restatement; after the fact

In order for the defense of assumption of the risk to be established, the defendant must show: ______. (Check all that apply)

The plaintiff understood the nature of the risk The plaintiff understood the extent of the risk

Cause in fact is the ______ or ______ cause.

actual; direct

In intentional tort cases, defendants are liable for ______ that ______ result from their intentional wrongdoing, however bizarre and unforeseeable they may be.

all of the consequences; directly

The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur creates: __________.

an inference of negligence

Generally speaking, _______ is a good defense to strict liability claims.

assumption of the risk

The best defense to reckless is the defense of: ______.

assumption of the risk because recklessness involves a high degree of fault

A person may be guilty of a breach of ______ if he exposes another person to a(n) _______, unreasonable risk of harm.

duty; foreseeable

Although the rule is ______, the law of negligence states that I must conduct myself as a(n) "______ person of ordinary ______ in similar circumstances."

flexible; reasonable; prudence

Generally, courts hold that if the intervening force was ______, the defendant will not be excused from liability.

foreseeable

Some courts hold defendants liable only for injuries that were reasonably ______, while others hold defendants only liable for injuries that occurred ______ of the foreseeable risk.

foreseeable; within the scope

Fearing spurious claims and "opening the floodgates of litigation," courts initially required some "physical ______" before recovery for emotional injury would be allowed.

impact

Courts also consider whether a(n) ______ force, which happens after the defendant's negligent act and contributes to the plaintiff's injury, should ______.

intervening; excuse the defendant from liability

Suppose that Joe fails to look both ways before he crosses a busy street and is hit by a car driven by Carol. The evidence indicates that Carol could have easily swerved to avoid him. Joe might still be able to successfully sue Carol for negligence under the doctrine of ______.

last clear chance

The defense of ______ holds that even though the plaintiff was negligent, she can still recover if it can be shown that the defendant could have avoided the harm

last clear chance

The defense of ______ holds that even though the plaintiff was negligent, she can still recover if it can be shown that the defendant could have avoided the harm.

last clear chance

If Hillary is walking down a street and breaks her leg jumping into the bushes to avoid being hit by a car driven by John, John is _______.

liable for Hillary's injuries

If Tom is "liable without fault," he is most likely liable for the tort of ______.

liable without fault

It is commonly said that ______, and that negligent persons should be liable to those who are injured while making a reasonable attempt to rescue someone endangered by the negligent person's act.

negligence invites rescue

The law of ______ holds our behavior up to a(n) ______ standard of conduct.

negligence; objective

Essentially, ______ is an ______ breach of duty by the defendant that results in harm to another.

negligence; unintentional

People who violate a statute are considered ______ because they are not acting as a ______ would.

negligent per se; reasonable person

To determine whether a person owes a(n) _____ to another person, courts will often look at the ______ of the parties.

particular duty; relationship

Generally, a negligent person is liable for only the ______ results of her negligence.

proximate

Regardless of what test for ______ cause the courts adopt, they generally agree that negligent defendants "take their victims as they find them."

proximate

The idea of placing a legal limit on the extent of a negligent person's liability is called ______.

proximate cause

A(n) ______ comparative negligence system allows plaintiffs to recover the portion of their losses not attributable to their fault.

pure

To determine whether a defendant breached a duty, the court will ask whether the defendant did something a(n) ______ would not have done or failed to do something that same individual would have done.

reasonable person

For ______, the risk of harm must be significantly greater than the degree of risk that would make an act negligent.

recklessness

Like negligence, ______ involves posing a(n) ______ risk of harm to others.

recklessness; foreseeable

The impetus for 'tort reform' is the assumed "crisis" in the insurance industry characterized by all of the following: ______. (Check all that apply)

reductions in coverage refusal to cover certain activities dramatically higher premiums

When a plaintiff in a negligence suit voluntarily exposes herself to a known danger, the defense can claim that she assumed the _______

risk

The most recent major application of ______ is to manufacturers of defective products that are "unreasonably dangerous."

strict liability

Regardless of what test for proximate cause the courts adopt, courts generally agree that defendants ______.

take their victims as they find them

Generally, ______ determine(s) whether a person owes another person a particular duty of ______.

the court; care

The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur means ______.

the thing speaks for itself

Traditionally, strict liability was imposed for those activities that were considered abnormally dangerous or ______.

ultrahazardous

In some states, tort reforms have been ruled unconstitutional under the state constitution because they ______.

unfairly limit plaintiffs' right to seek redress in the courts for their injuries

During the Industrial Revolution, the legal system was forced to develop a new set of rules to deal with ______ injuries, which resulted in the law of _______, requiring people to take which requires people to take ______ to avoid injuring others.

unintended; negligence; reasonable care

If the plaintiff can prove the defendant breached a duty owed to the plaintiff, the defendant ______ be liable unless the plaintiff can show the defendant's breach ______ the plaintiff's injury.

will not; actually caused

Strict liability means liability: ______.

without fault

A growing number of courts in negligent infliction of emotional distress cases have allowed recovery _______ if the plaintiff suffered serious emotional distress as a ______ result of the defendant's conduct.

without proof of physical injury; foreseeable

Historically, plaintiffs have been denied recovery in negligent infliction of emotion distress cases unless they were within the "______" created by the negligent act.

zone of danger

True or false: If the defendant has breached a duty owed to the plaintiff, the defendant will automatically be deemed as the cause of the plaintiff's injuries.

False

If a person is negligent per se, he or she is ______.

If a person is negligent per se, he or she is ______.

During the ______, which began early in the 19th century, railroads, machinery, and new tools were contributing to a number of injuries to people and property that did not fit within the framework of intentional torts because most of these injuries were ______.

Industrial Revolution; unintended

__________ is not a good defense to the charge of recklessness.

Contributory negligence

Suppose in the case of Joe vs Carol that Joe suffered $100,000 in damages. The jury determines that Joe was 33% at fault for his injuries, and that Carol was 67% at fault for his injuries. In a comparative negligence jurisdiction, what would Joe receive in terms of a verdict amount?

$67,000

Select all that apply The tort of negligence contains all of the following elements.

1. The defendant breached the duty not to injure the plaintiff. 2. The defendant had a duty not to injure the plaintiff. 3. The defendant's breach of duty was the actual and proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries.

Select all that apply Suppose Crista is standing on a street corner and is an eyewitness to a horrific accident: a car driven by Nick hits Marla (Crista's mother walking behind her in the crosswalk) so violently that Marla is decapitated and dismembered. Crista has a nervous breakdown at the scene and files a lawsuit against Nick for negligent infliction of emotion distress. What are all the possible outcomes?

1. Verdict for Crista because she was in the "zone of danger" 2. Verdict for Crista because she witnessed the accident, Marla was her mother, and she suffered serious emotional distress as a result

Recently, manufacturers of _______ have been held strictly liable for products that are "______", or defective in a way that endangers life or property and is not readily apparent to buyers.

defective products; unreasonably dangerous

The defense of ______ is seen as fairer because it distributes the cost of the accident according to the degree of both the plaintiff's and the defendant's fault.

comparative negligence

If Joe fails to look both ways before he crosses a busy street and is injured by a speeding car driven by Carol, Joe might be prevented from recovering based on the doctrine of ______.

contributory negligence

The traditional defenses to negligence are: _______. (Check all that apply)

contributory negligence assumption of the risk