Injury Lawyer Negligence & Liability 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'negligence per se'?
- Negligence proven by expert testimony
- Negligence established by violation of a statute designed to protect against the type of harm suffered (Correct answer)
- Negligence inferred from the defendant's wealth
- Negligence that results in punitive damages
Correct answer: Negligence established by violation of a statute designed to protect against the type of harm suffered
Negligence per se occurs when a defendant violates a statute intended to protect the class of persons and type of harm involved, establishing breach automatically.
Question 2: Under the 'eggshell skull' rule, a defendant is liable for:
- Only foreseeable injuries
- The plaintiff's pre-existing conditions that worsen the injury (Correct answer)
- Injuries caused solely by the plaintiff's own actions
- Only physical injuries, not emotional ones
Correct answer: The plaintiff's pre-existing conditions that worsen the injury
The eggshell skull rule requires defendants to take plaintiffs as they find them, meaning they are liable for full extent of harm even if the plaintiff had unusual vulnerabilities.
Question 3: What is 'proximate cause' in a negligence action?
- The immediate physical cause of harm
- The legal cause linking defendant's conduct to plaintiff's harm without unforeseeable intervening factors (Correct answer)
- The cause identified by expert witnesses
- The cause closest in time to the injury
Correct answer: The legal cause linking defendant's conduct to plaintiff's harm without unforeseeable intervening factors
Proximate cause limits liability to harms that are a foreseeable result of the defendant's negligence, excluding unforeseeable intervening causes.
Question 4: Which doctrine bars recovery entirely when the plaintiff is found to have any degree of fault?
- Pure comparative negligence
- Modified comparative negligence
- Contributory negligence (Correct answer)
- Assumption of risk
Correct answer: Contributory negligence
Contributory negligence, still used in a few states, completely bars plaintiff recovery if they contributed even 1% to their own injury.
Question 5: A 'superseding cause' in negligence law:
- Strengthens the plaintiff's case
- Breaks the chain of causation and relieves the defendant of liability (Correct answer)
- Increases the damages awarded
- Establishes intentional conduct
Correct answer: Breaks the chain of causation and relieves the defendant of liability
A superseding cause is an unforeseeable intervening act that breaks the causal chain, relieving the original negligent defendant of liability.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes 'gross negligence'?
- Ordinary failure to use reasonable care
- A conscious and voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care (Correct answer)
- An intentional harmful act
- Negligence that results in property damage only
Correct answer: A conscious and voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care
Gross negligence involves a reckless disregard for safety or a conscious indifference to others' rights, exceeding ordinary negligence.
Injury Lawyer Negligence & Liability 2
What is 'negligence per se'?