Business Law 210 Chapter 7

Superseding cause

An unforeseeable intervening event may break the casual connection between a wrongful act and an injury to another. If so, the intervening acts as a _______ - that is, it relives a defendant of liability for injuries caused by the intervening event.

Strict liability

Another category of torts is called _________, or liability without fault.

Good Samaritan statute

A number of states have enacted statutes prescribing duties and responsibilities in certain circumstances. For example, most states now have what are called _________.

Business invitee

Retailers and other firms that explicitly or implicitly invite persons to come onto their premises are usually charged with a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect these ________. For example, if you entered a supermarket, slipped on a wet floor, and sustained injuries as a result, the owner of the supermarket would be liable for damages if, when you slipped, there was no sign warning that the floor was wet.

Malpractice

If a professional violates his or her duty of care toward a client, the client may bring a suit against the professional, alleging __________, which is essentially professional negligence.

Res ipsa loquitur

In certain situations, however, the courts may presume that negligence has occurred, in which case the burden of proof rests on the defendant - that is, the defendant must prove that he or she was not negligent. The presumption of the defendant's negligence is known as the doctrine of ___________.

Dram shop act

Many states have also passed ________, under which a tavern owner or bartender may be held liable for injuries caused by a person who become intoxicated while drinking at the bar or who was already intoxicated when served by the bartender.

Duty of care

Central to the tort of negligence is the concept of a _______ .This concept arises from the notion that if we are to live in society with other people, some actions can be tolerated and some cannot, and some actions are reasonable and some are not.

Negligence per se

Certain conduct, whether it consists of an action or a failure to act, may be treated as ___________ ("in or of itself").

Comparative negligence

In the most states, the doctrine of contributory negligence has been replaced by a ______ standard.

Contributory negligence

In the past, under the common law doctrine of ________, a plaintiff who was also negligent (failed to exercise a reasonable degree of care) could not recover anything from the defendant.

Negligence

The tort of ____________ occurs when someone suffers injury because of another's failure to live up to a required duty of care.

Assumption of risk

This is the defense of __________. The requirements of this defense are (1) knowledge of the risk and (2) voluntary assumption of the risk.

Reasonable person standard

Tort law measures duty by the _____________. In determining whether a duty of care has been breached, for example, the courts ask how a reasonable person would have acted in the same circumstances.

Causation in fact

______ usually can be determined by use of the but for test: "but for" the wrongful act, the injury would not have occurred. This test determines whether there was an actual cause-and-effect relationship between the act and the injury suffered.

Proximate cause

____________ or legal cause, exists when the connection between an act and an injury is strong enough to justify imposing liability.