Lawyer Tort Law 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What are the four essential elements a plaintiff must prove to establish a negligence claim?
- Duty, breach, causation, and damages (Correct answer)
- Intent, breach, causation, and malice
- Duty, intent, causation, and punitive damages
- Breach, causation, malice, and compensatory damages
Correct answer: Duty, breach, causation, and damages
Negligence requires proving all four elements: a duty of care owed to the plaintiff, breach of that duty, causation linking the breach to the harm, and actual damages suffered.
Question 2: Which doctrine allows an injured plaintiff to recover even if they were partially at fault, with damages reduced proportionally?
- Contributory negligence
- Comparative negligence (Correct answer)
- Assumption of risk
- Strict liability
Correct answer: Comparative negligence
Comparative negligence allows recovery even when the plaintiff is partially at fault, reducing damages by the plaintiff's percentage of fault rather than barring recovery entirely.
Question 3: The intentional tort of battery is best defined as:
- Harmful or offensive contact with another person without consent (Correct answer)
- Intent to cause apprehension of imminent harmful contact
- Negligent contact causing physical bodily harm
- Threatening words accompanied by the present ability to carry out the threat
Correct answer: Harmful or offensive contact with another person without consent
Battery is intentional harmful or offensive contact with another person without their consent, and it does not require that the contact cause physical injury.
Question 4: Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer is vicariously liable for:
- All torts committed by employees on company property regardless of circumstances
- Torts committed by employees acting within the scope of their employment (Correct answer)
- All intentional torts committed by employees at any time or place
- Negligent acts of independent contractors hired to perform company work
Correct answer: Torts committed by employees acting within the scope of their employment
Respondeat superior holds employers vicariously liable only for torts committed by employees while acting within the scope of their employment, not for frolic or detour outside job duties.
Question 5: Which of the following is correctly classified as an intentional tort?
- Products liability for a manufacturing defect
- Trespass to land (Correct answer)
- Negligent infliction of emotional distress
- Strict liability for keeping a wild animal
Correct answer: Trespass to land
Trespass to land is an intentional tort requiring only the intentional act of entering another's land without authorization, not necessarily intent to trespass or cause harm.
Question 6: The 'eggshell skull' (or 'thin skull') rule in tort law provides that:
- A tortfeasor is not liable for unforeseeable medical consequences of their conduct
- A tortfeasor is liable for all damages even if the victim's unusual vulnerability made injuries more severe (Correct answer)
- Plaintiffs must prove their specific injuries were foreseeable to the reasonable person
- Defendants are liable only for aggravating pre-existing conditions, not the pre-existing conditions themselves
Correct answer: A tortfeasor is liable for all damages even if the victim's unusual vulnerability made injuries more severe
The eggshell skull rule holds that defendants must take their victims as they find them, making them fully liable even when the plaintiff's pre-existing vulnerability causes disproportionately severe injuries.
Question 7: Strict liability in tort law is most commonly applied to which category of cases?
- Medical malpractice and professional negligence
- Slip-and-fall accidents on commercial property
- Ultrahazardous or abnormally dangerous activities such as blasting (Correct answer)
- Cases involving proven intentional harm to the plaintiff
Correct answer: Ultrahazardous or abnormally dangerous activities such as blasting
Strict liability applies to ultrahazardous or abnormally dangerous activities because the risk of harm is so great that liability attaches regardless of the defendant's level of care or fault.
Lawyer Tort Law 1
What are the four essential elements a plaintiff must prove to establish a negligence claim?