BUL chapter 9 learnsmart
______ cause is also known as cause in fact.
actual
A plaintiff can sue for ______ to help compensate for losses that result from the defendant's negligence.
damages
_______ laws hold that people in peril, who receive voluntary aid from others, cannot hold those offering aid liable for negligence.
Good Samaritan
Amy was walking by a pond when she happened to notice Ted floating unconscious in the water. Amy dove in and managed to pull Ted to the shore. His heart had stopped, and Amy began to administer CPR. Ted was revived, but the CPR that Amy had administered resulted in a broken rib. Ted sued Amy for damages, but he did not collect anything due to a statute which was designed to protect people who engaged in selfless and courageous behavior in the aid of others. Such a statute is called a(n):_______.
Good Samaritan statute
______ is an action committed with extreme reckless disregard for the property or life of another person.
Gross negligence
Courts consider the following factors in attempting to determine whether a reasonable person would have owed a duty to others: ______. (Check all that apply.)
How serious was the harm? What costs would have been necessary to reduce the risk of harm? How likely was it that the harm would occur?
It was an extremely hot day in New York City. Kara was standing in a subway car when, suddenly and without warning, she suffered a fainting spell causing her to collide with a fellow passenger, who in turn fell and sprained his ankle. Is Kara liable for the damages to the passenger?
No, because this was an unfortunate accident, and thus Kara will not be liable for any damages she caused.
The plaintiff uses the ______ _______ _____ doctrine to allow the judge or 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.
Res ipsa loquitur
Which of the following doctrines are created to help a plaintiff when there is no direct evidence of negligence? (Check all that apply.)
Res ipsa loquitur Negligence per se
An airplane runs off a runway and into a river because of the negligence of the airline. Some bystanders observe the crash and jump into the water to help save crash survivors. If any of the bystanders are injured while attempting to save the survivors, under which doctrine can the court hold the airline liable for their injuries?
The danger invites rescue doctrine
Norm was sitting in a bar for approximately 4 hours, drinking heavily. The bartender at the bar kept serving alcohol to an obviously intoxicated Norm. Norm got into his car and crashed into another car, injuring the driver and the passengers. The driver and passengers sued the bar owner and were successful due to a state statute which holds bar owners liable for injuries resulting from an intoxicated patron of the bar. Such a statute is known as
a dram shop act.
Craig had a large oak tree which was beginning to die. Even though Craig knew the tree was dying and could cause damage if it fell over, he did nothing to cut it down. One night, a tornado came barreling through town. The winds were so intense that the storm caused the oak tree to fall on Craig's neighbors' house, causing significant damage to the roof. The tornado in this case can be considered as ______ cause of the harm.
the superseding
True or false: To win a negligence case, a plaintiff must prove four elements: (1) duty, (2) breach of duty, (3) causation, and (4) damages.
true
Strict Liability
liability without fault
A case of negligence was decided by a jury where the jury found that the defendant was 30% at fault for the plaintiff's injuries. In a pure comparative negligence jurisdiction, the plaintiff will recover: _______.
30% of the damages
Which of the following is a defense accepted in some states whereby the defendant is not liable for the percentage of harm that he or she can prove can be attributed to the plaintiff's own negligence?
A pure comparative negligence defense
A state law requires that attorneys must treat their clients' payments by placing them in a separate client account and sending the clients a report of their accounts. These legal requirements are regarded as: _______.
a duty of care
When someone is harmed by an incident that simply could not be avoided, even with reasonable care, this is known as: _______.
an unfortunate accident
A fitness club patron sued her health club for failing to advise her that she could suffer a pulled muscle as a result from her workout on the weight machines. At the hearing, the health club showed the court the membership agreement that the plaintiff had signed. The agreement, in part, stated that "client is aware that use of the health care equipment may result in injury." The court granted summary judgment in favor of the health club. The defense used by the health club is: _______.
assumption of the risk
A grocery store had just had one of its employees mop up some spilled milk. The floor was wet, and the employee put several cones around the wet floor with a tape surrounding the perimeter of the wet floor. There were several signs specifically warning customers that the floor was wet and slippery. One irate customer stepped over the tape and entered the zone that was taped off. Sure enough, he slipped and fell to the floor, suffering a broken arm. The customer sued the store for negligence. The best defense for the store is: _______.
assumption of the risk
If a defendant's breach of duty is the actual cause of a plaintiff's injury, this is known as
cause in fact.
If a plaintiff has sustained compensable injuries caused by the defendant's negligence, the plaintiff can sue for: ________.
damages
The four elements of a negligence case are (1) duty, (2) breach of duty, (3) causation, and (4): _______.
damages
If any bystanders are injured while attempting to rescue victims injured by the defendant's negligence, many courts hold the defendant liable for their injuries under what is known as the ______ doctrine.
danger invites rescue
_____ _____ _____ refer to the laws that make bar owners and bartenders liable for the acts of individuals who become intoxicated at the bar.
dram shop acts
Mrs. Potter was a nanny for Robert, who is three months old. Mrs. Potter took Robert out for a walk in his carriage where she met several other nannies. Mrs. Potter started talking to the other nannies and forgot to pay attention to Robert. All of a sudden, the carriage started rolling downhill where it came to a stop. Mrs. Potter's failure to keep her attention on Robert is known as a breach of: _______.
duty
The pilot of a plane had been drinking before he reported for duty at a major commercial airline. He was still intoxicated during the time he flew a plane full of passengers in bad weather. As a result of his intoxication, he failed to notice a warning light on the control panel and the plane had to make a violent emergency landing. The failure of the pilot to fly the plane sober is a breach of : ______.
duty
The element of negligence that best describes the relationship between a parent and a minor child is known as: _______.
duty of care
True or false: Molly is a waitress at the local diner. She is carrying a heavy tray full of very hot food. While she is carrying the tray, she suffers a heart attack and drops the tray burning a customer as she falls. Molly's actions are an example of negligence.
false
A pharmacist became addicted to the narcotic drugs, Percocet and Vicodin. As a result, the pharmacist failed to measure the compounds of the prescriptions that he was filling. He contaminated many of the prescriptions with lethal overdoses of some of the compounds, causing several deaths. We call the pharmacist's extreme reckless disregard for the life of his clients: _______.
gross negligence
The four questions a court considers to determine whether a reasonable person would have owed a duty to others includes all of the following except
how intentional was the harm?
In the modified comparative negligence, the plaintiff can recover damages ______.
if the defendant is more than 50% at fault
In a strict liability case, a defendant is liable if the plaintiff can show the activity (1) involves a risk of serious injury or harm to others, (2) is so inherently dangerous that it cannot ever be safely undertaken, and (3) is not normally undertaken
in the community
A plaintiff has filed a negligence claim in a contributory negligence jurisdiction. The court ruled that the plaintiff did contribute to his or her own injuries. The doctrine that would still allow the plaintiff to recover damages is known as the ______ doctrine.
last-clear-chance
The ______ allows the plaintiff to recover damages despite proof of contributory negligence as long as the defendant had a final opportunity to avoid the action that injured the plaintiff.
last-clear-chance doctrine
Dr. Casey was treating a patient and prescribed a medication for her to take. However, Dr. Casey failed to check on the patient's current medications and whether or not those medications would have a detrimental effect if his patient took the prescribed drug. Had Dr. Casey bothered to check, he would have seen that his prescription would have a dangerous interaction with a drug that he had prescribed earlier to his patient. As it turned out, his patient did suffer from respiratory failure as a result of his carelessness. His patient sued him for his breach of duty of care to her. When a professional breaches his duty of care to another, it is known as: _______.
malpractice
______ is the term for negligence by a professional who ignored the generally accepted principles in his or her field of expertise.
malpractice
Barbara promised Amy to look after her dog while she was on vacation. That night, Barbara forgot to close the gate to the dog's yard. The dog escaped and never came back. Barbara's failure to close the gate is an example of: _______.
negligence
______ is proven when a defendant's violation caused a plaintiff to suffer from a type of harm that a statute or regulation was created to prevent.
negligence per se
Abigail was suing Gregory for injuries she sustained when Gregory negligently ignored the stop signal and ran into Abigail with his car. In his defense, Gregory pointed out that Abigail ignored the "don't walk" sign and crossed the street. If Gregory can show Abigail was 10% at fault for her own injuries in a contributory jurisdiction, then Abigail would: _______.
not be able to collect any damages
Darcy sued Tony for negligence in a modified comparative negligence jurisdiction. A judge ruled that Darcy was 55% at fault for her own injuries. Darcy will be able to recover: ______.
nothing
Philip was driving his car and failed to see a stop sign. He hit a car driven by Oscar. Oscar was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash, and thus sustained more serious injuries than he would have had if he had been wearing his seatbelt. The court found that both parties were negligent. If this was a contributory negligence jurisdiction, then Oscar would be able to recover: _______.
nothing
Res ipsa loquitur and negligence per se are designed to help plaintiffs sue for negligence when there are no witnesses to the conduct or where evidence of the negligence is destroyed. These types of negligence are known as: _______.
plaintiff's doctrine
John was texting on his phone, while driving down the highway. Because he was not paying attention to his driving, he veered out of his lane and crashed into the car in the adjacent lane. The driver of the second car was pushed into a third car. All of the drivers suffered injuries. The driver of the third car sued John for damages. The reason why the court will find in favor of the third driver is because John was the ______ cause of the third driver's injuries.
proximate
______ cause is sometimes referred to as legal cause.
proximate
Causation is the third element of a successful negligence claim and is made up of two separate elements: actual cause and: _______.
proximate cause
The Palsgraff v Long Island RR Co case is one of the most well-known cases addressing the issue of ________.
proximate cause
One plaintiff's doctrine that literally means "the thing speaks for itself" is known as: _______.
res ipsa loquitur
The reasonable person standard is a measurement of the way members of society should act in a given situation. The two things that are used to determine a defendant's duty of care is the degree of care and ______ that a reasonable person would exercise under similar circumstances.
skill
Tom was in charge of the demolition of a large high-rise building. The blasting was to take place the next day and in preparation for the blast, Tom had moved all of the explosives to the site. The explosives were stored under lock and key in a trailer used by the demolition crew. That night there was a horrible storm and a bolt of lightening struck the trailer, setting off the explosives. The trailer was blown up and shards of the trailer were sent flying for miles. One of the shards struck a pedestrian five blocks from the blast causing some serious lacerations. The pedestrian sued the demolition company for negligence. The best defense of the demolition company is: _______.
superseding cause
The standard that is a measurement of the way members of society expect an individual to act in a given situation is known as: _______.
the reasonable person standard