Torts & Personal Injury Law Flashcards

Under the traditional contributory negligence doctrine, if the plaintiff is found even slightly at fault for their own injury:

Answer: They are completely barred from any recovery

Under traditional contributory negligence, any negligence by the plaintiff — even 1% — completely bars their recovery; this harsh rule has been replaced by comparative fault in most jurisdictions.

The assumption of risk defense in tort law requires that the plaintiff:

Answer: Voluntarily and knowingly encountered a known risk

Assumption of risk bars recovery when the plaintiff voluntarily and knowingly exposed themselves to a known risk; both elements — knowledge and voluntariness — must be present.

Under the negligence per se doctrine, a defendant's violation of a statute establishes breach when:

Answer: The plaintiff is in the class the statute protects and suffered the type of harm the statute was designed to prevent

Negligence per se allows a statutory violation to establish the breach element of negligence if the plaintiff belongs to the class the statute protects and suffered the harm the statute was designed to prevent.

In a strict products liability claim under Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A, the plaintiff's most critical showing is that:

Answer: The product was in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous when it left the defendant's control

Section 402A strict products liability focuses on whether the product was defective (manufacturing, design, or warning defect) when it left the defendant's control; the manufacturer's care is irrelevant.

Compensatory damages in a personal injury tort case are intended to:

Answer: Make the plaintiff whole by reimbursing actual economic and non-economic losses

Compensatory damages are designed to make the plaintiff whole by covering actual losses — both economic (medical expenses, lost wages) and non-economic (pain and suffering, emotional distress).

Punitive (exemplary) damages in tort cases are awarded when:

Answer: The defendant's conduct was willful, malicious, or grossly negligent, warranting punishment and deterrence

Punitive damages are awarded beyond compensatory damages when the defendant's conduct was egregious — willful, malicious, or grossly reckless — to punish the defendant and deter similar future conduct.

The 'last clear chance' doctrine allows a contributorily negligent plaintiff to recover damages when:

Answer: The defendant had the last clear opportunity to avoid the accident but negligently failed to do so

The last clear chance doctrine permits a contributorily negligent plaintiff to recover if the defendant had the final clear opportunity to avoid the harm but negligently failed to take it.