Torts: Negligence and Liability Flashcards

Under respondeat superior, an employer is vicariously liable for an employee's tort when the employee acts:

Answer: Within the scope of employment

Respondeat superior imposes vicarious liability on employers for employee torts committed within the scope of employment, regardless of employer fault.

In most U.S. jurisdictions, the standard of care owed by a professional (e.g., attorney or doctor) is measured by:

Answer: The standard of a reasonably competent professional in the same field

Professionals are held to the standard of a reasonably competent member of their profession, not merely the reasonable layperson.

Which doctrine allows an injured plaintiff to sue multiple defendants jointly when it is impossible to determine which one caused the harm?

Answer: Alternative liability

Alternative liability (from Summers v. Tice) shifts the burden of proof to each defendant to show they did not cause the harm when all acted negligently and only one could have caused it.

Assumption of risk as a complete defense in negligence typically requires that the plaintiff:

Answer: Voluntarily and knowingly encountered a known risk

Express or implied assumption of risk requires that the plaintiff voluntarily chose to encounter a risk they knew and understood.

Under the 'last clear chance' doctrine (in contributory negligence states), a plaintiff who was contributorily negligent may still recover if:

Answer: The defendant had a final opportunity to avoid the harm and failed to use it

Last clear chance allows a contributorily negligent plaintiff to recover if the defendant, seeing the plaintiff in peril, had the last opportunity to prevent the injury.

An independent contractor relationship generally prevents vicarious liability for the hiring party except when:

Answer: The work involves an inherently dangerous activity

One major exception to the no-vicarious-liability rule for independent contractors applies when the work is inherently dangerous, making the hiring party non-delegably liable.

Which of the following is the correct 'but-for' causation test?

Answer: Would the harm have occurred even if the defendant had acted non-negligently?

The but-for test asks whether the harm would NOT have occurred but for the defendant's negligent conduct, establishing actual cause.