MD Bar Torts and Negligence 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A pedestrian in Baltimore is struck by a speeding driver, but evidence shows the pedestrian crossed against a red light. Under Maryland law, what is the likely result of the pedestrian's negligence claim?
- The claim is completely barred by contributory negligence (Correct answer)
- Damages are reduced in proportion to the pedestrian's fault
- The pedestrian recovers fully because the driver was speeding
- Damages are reduced only if the pedestrian was more than 50% at fault
Correct answer: The claim is completely barred by contributory negligence
Maryland retains pure contributory negligence, so any negligence by the plaintiff that contributes to the injury completely bars recovery.
Question 2: A driver on an unfavored road entering a Maryland highway from a stop sign collides with a vehicle traveling on the favored road. Under the boulevard rule, who is presumptively liable?
- The unfavored driver who failed to yield the right-of-way (Correct answer)
- The favored driver, who has a heightened duty of lookout
- Both drivers equally under joint liability
- Neither, because the rule applies only to pedestrians
Correct answer: The unfavored driver who failed to yield the right-of-way
Maryland's boulevard rule imposes an absolute duty on the unfavored driver to yield to traffic on the favored highway, making the unfavored driver negligent as a matter of law in most collisions.
Question 3: A plaintiff sues a Maryland county for injuries caused by a negligent county employee. What procedural step is generally required under the Local Government Tort Claims Act?
- Written notice of the claim within 1 year of the injury (Correct answer)
- Filing suit in federal court first
- Obtaining consent from the Maryland Attorney General
- Posting a bond equal to the damages sought
Correct answer: Written notice of the claim within 1 year of the injury
The LGTCA requires a claimant to give the local government written notice of the claim within one year after the injury, absent good cause for waiver.
Question 4: A jury awards a Maryland plaintiff $3 million in non-economic damages for pain and suffering in an ordinary negligence case. What will the court most likely do?
- Reduce the award to comply with Maryland's statutory cap on non-economic damages (Correct answer)
- Enter judgment for the full amount because caps apply only to punitive damages
- Order a new trial automatically
- Triple the award as a penalty for the defendant's negligence
Correct answer: Reduce the award to comply with Maryland's statutory cap on non-economic damages
Maryland caps non-economic damages in personal injury actions by statute, and courts must reduce jury awards that exceed the cap.
Question 5: A grocery store customer slips on a grape that had been on the floor for an unknown period. To prevail in Maryland, the customer must generally prove what?
- The store had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard in time to remove it (Correct answer)
- Only that the fall occurred on the store's premises
- The store guaranteed the safety of all invitees
- The grape was placed there intentionally by an employee
Correct answer: The store had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard in time to remove it
A Maryland premises liability plaintiff must show the storekeeper had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition and a reasonable opportunity to correct it.
Question 6: A defendant negligently rear-ends a plaintiff who, unknown to the defendant, has an unusually fragile spine, causing catastrophic injury. How does Maryland treat the extent of damages?
- The defendant is liable for the full extent of the injuries under the eggshell plaintiff rule (Correct answer)
- Liability is limited to injuries a normal person would have suffered
- The claim fails for lack of foreseeability
- Damages are split equally between the parties
Correct answer: The defendant is liable for the full extent of the injuries under the eggshell plaintiff rule
Under the eggshell (thin-skull) plaintiff doctrine, a tortfeasor takes the victim as found and is liable for the full harm even if unforeseeably severe.
Question 7: A spectator at a Maryland baseball game seated in an unscreened area is struck by a foul ball and sues the stadium. What defense is most likely to defeat the claim entirely?
- Assumption of the risk (Correct answer)
- Sovereign immunity
- The economic loss doctrine
- Lack of proximate cause
Correct answer: Assumption of the risk
In Maryland, a plaintiff who voluntarily encounters a known and appreciated risk, such as foul balls at a baseball game, is completely barred by assumption of the risk.
MD Bar Torts and Negligence 2
A pedestrian in Baltimore is struck by a speeding driver, but evidence shows the pedestrian crossed against a red light.
Under Maryland law, what is the likely result of the pedestrian's negligence claim?