BLAW Chapter 9 Negligence and Strict Liability

Which of the following is a doctrine that allows the plaintiff to recover damages despite proof of contributory negligence as long as the defendant had a final clear opportunity to avoid the action that injured the plaintiff?

Last-clear-chance doctrine

Proximate cause is also sometimes referred to as which of the following?

Legal cause

Clients who feel that they have suffered damages as a result of a professional's breach of his or her duty of care can bring a negligence case against the professional referred to as a _____________ case.

Malpractice

Under which of the following does the court determine the percentage of fault of the defendant requiring that the defendant be more than 50% at fault before the plaintiff can recover?

Modified comparative negligence

Which of the following is behavior that creates an unreasonable risk of harm to others and involves the failure to exercise reasonable care to protect another's personal property?

Negligence

What does the term "negligence per se" mean literally?

Negligence in or of itself

Which of the following applies to cases in which the defendant has violated a statute enacted to prevent a certain type of harm from befalling a specific group to which the plaintiff belongs?

Negligence per se

Assume Bob is driving and suddenly has an unexpected heart attack causing him to run over a student crossing the street breaking the student's leg in the process. Which of the following is true?

It is unlikely that the student can recover because the accident could not have been avoided even with reasonable care

Which of the following is true regarding contributory negligence?

It was once available in all states but has been replaced in some states by the defense of comparative negligence

In some situations, the law specifies the duty of care one individual owes to another.

True

Strict liability is liability without fault

True

The courts generally hold that landowners have a duty to protect individuals on their property.

True

To use the assumption of the risk defense successfully, a defendant must prove that the plaintiff voluntarily and unreasonably encountered the risk of the actual harm the defendant caused.

True

Which of the following is true regarding the adoption of defenses to negligence?

Twenty-eight states have adopted modified comparative negligence, thirteen have adopted pure comparative negligence, and nine have adopted contributory negligence.

Which of the following is true regarding the duty that a business owes to customers?

A business has a duty of care to protect their customers against foreseeable risks about which the owner knew or reasonably should have known

Which of the following is an example of a dram shop act?

A statue which allows bartenders and bar owners to be held liable for injuries caused by individuals which become intoxicated at the bar

Which of the following is an unforeseeable event which interrupts the causal chain between the defendant's breach of duty and the damages the plaintiff suffered?

A superseding cause

Which of the following is sometimes referred to as "but for" causation?

Actual cause

Which of the following is the determination that the defendant's breach of duty resulted directly in the plaintiff's injury?

Actual cause

Which of the following is true regarding negligence under South African Law?

All of the above A. South Africa's legal system is a combination of selected legal traditions including Roman, Dutch, and German. B. Under South African law, individuals can be found negligent in three different ways. C. Individuals who fail to prevent consequent damages can be found negligent under South African law. D. South African law cites the American doctrine of sudden emergency as a standard for determining negligence in crisis situations. E. All the above are true

Which of the following is a doctrine available to defendants whereby a defendant may avoid liability by establishing that the plaintiff voluntarily and unreasonably encountered the risk of the actual harm that the defendant caused?

Assumption of the risk doctrine

Why have most states replaced the contributory negligence defense with a comparative negligence theory?

Because of situations in which a plaintiff is barred from recovery due to minimal contributory negligence

Which of the following is true regarding the law of negligence in Germany?

Courts distinguish between conscious and unconscious negligence with defendants who have engaged in only unconscious negligence being found not guilty.

Assume Bobby begins to cross the street in a jurisdiction that applies contributory negligence. He does not go to a crosswalk but proceeds to illegally cross the street without even checking to see if any vehicles are coming. Slick sees Bobby in the street, notices that he is not in the crosswalk, and proceeds to hit Bobby with his vehicle because he believes that Bobby should be taught a lesson about how to cross the street. Slick does slow down somewhat and only causes Bobby some significant bruising, but Bobby is angry and sues. Which of the following is most likely to happen in a contributory negligence jurisdiction?

Bobby will be able to recover despite proof of contributory negligence on his part because Slick had a final clear opportunity to avoid the action that injured Bobby.

The violation of a duty of care is called _______.

Breach of duty

Actual cause is also known as ______.

Cause in fact

Which of the following damages are intended to reimburse a plaintiff for his or her losses?

Compensatory

Which of the following must a plaintiff prove to win a negligence case?

Duty, breach of duty, causation and damages

Which of the following is an example of an inherently dangerous activity?

Dynamite blasting in a populated area

Which of the following occurs when a plaintiff expressly agrees, usually in a written contract, to assume the risk posed by the defendant's behavior?

Express assumption of the risk

A plaintiff in a negligence suit may choose whether the plaintiff wishes pure comparative negligence or modified comparative negligence to be applied by the court.

False

According to the pure comparative negligence defense, a defendant must be more than 50% at fault before the plaintiff can recover.

False

Assumption of the risk is a doctrine which makes it easier for a plaintiff to prevail in a lawsuit.

False

Good Samaritan statutes impose liability upon people for refusing to stop at accident scenes.

False

Implied assumption of the risk occurs when the plaintiff expressly agrees, usually in a written contract, to assume the risk posed by the defendant's behavior.

False

More than half the states remain contributory negligence states.

False

When negligence per se applies, the plaintiff is required to show that a reasonable person would exercise a certain duty of care toward the plaintiff.

False

In most states, proximate cause is determined by _______.

Foreseeability

Which of the following are laws holding that people in peril who receive voluntary aid from others cannot hold those offering aid liable for negligence?

Good Samaritan Statutes

Courts usually award punitive damages in cases in which the offender has committed ______.

Gross negligence

Which of the following occurs when a plaintiff implicitly assumes a known risk?

Implied assumption of the risk

What was the result in the "case opener" involving the victim who died after being set on fire with gasoline?

On appeal the court upheld the verdict against the gas station but reduced it by 25% based on the victims negligence

Which of the following refers to the extent to which, as a matter of policy, a defendant may be held liable for the consequences of his actions?

Proximate Cause

Under which of the following does the court determine the percentage of the fault of the defendant with the defendant then being liable for that percentage of the plaintiff's damages, with no requirement that the defendant be more than 50% at fault?

Pure comparative negligence

The ________ standard is a measurement of the way members of society expect an individual to act in a given situation.

Reasonable person

Which of the following is a doctrine that has been adopted by courts to aid plaintiffs in establishing negligence claims?

Res ipsa loquitur and negligence per se

While driving her car down the street, Susan sees a child playing near the road with no adult around. Which of the following is true?

She has no duty to render assistance to the child

Which is the most difficult part of establishing the defense of assumption of the risk?

Showing that the plaintiff assumed the risk of the actual harm suffered

Which of the following is liability without fault?

Strict liability

Which of the following must the defendant prove in order to rely upon the defense of contributory negligence?

That the plaintiff's conduct fell below the standard of care needed to prevent unreasonable risk of harm and also that the plaintiff's failure was a contributing cause to the plaintiff's injuries.

Which of the following is a condition required for the imposition of strict liability?

The activity is so inherently dangerous that it cannon ever be safely undertaken

Assuming res ipsa loquitur is established, what is the effect of that doctrine?

The burden of proof shifts to the defendant

Tina negligently hits student Susie with her car. Which of the following is true?

Tina has a duty to come to the aid of Susie because she negligently hit her

Why are punitive damages awarded?

To punish the offender and to deter others from committing similar offenses.

Which of the following are elements of causation?

actual cause and proximate cause

When would a defendant use the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur?

to allow the judge and jury to infer that more likely than not, the defendant's negligence was the cause of the plaintiff's harm, even though there is no direct evidence of the defendant's lack of due care