Torts & Personal Injury Law Flashcards

Which tort doctrine holds an employer liable for an employee's tortious act committed within the scope of employment?

Answer: Respondeat superior

Respondeat superior ('let the master answer') imposes vicarious liability on employers for torts committed by employees acting within the scope of their employment.

A defendant makes a false statement of fact about a competitor's product, knowing it is false, causing the competitor economic harm. This best describes which business tort?

Answer: Trade libel (commercial disparagement)

Trade libel involves the intentional publication of a false statement of fact about a competitor's goods or services that causes economic harm.

Under pure comparative fault, a plaintiff who is 60% at fault for their own injury may recover:

Answer: 40% of their total damages

Under pure comparative fault, a plaintiff recovers damages reduced by their percentage of fault, so 60% plaintiff fault means recovery of the remaining 40%.

Which element distinguishes battery from assault in tort law?

Answer: Battery requires an actual harmful or offensive contact; assault requires only reasonable apprehension of contact

Battery requires completion of the harmful or offensive contact, while assault only requires that the plaintiff reasonably apprehended such imminent contact.

A legal assistant is indexing medical records for a personal injury case. Which damages category would include future medical expenses and future lost wages?

Answer: Special (economic) damages

Special (economic) damages include all quantifiable monetary losses, including both past and future medical expenses and lost earning capacity.

The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in most U.S. states typically begins to run from the date:

Answer: The plaintiff discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury

The discovery rule tolls the statute of limitations until the plaintiff discovers, or through reasonable diligence should have discovered, both the injury and its cause.

In a strict liability case involving an abnormally dangerous activity, which factor is LEAST relevant to determining whether the activity qualifies?

Answer: Whether the defendant exercised reasonable care to prevent harm

Strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities does not depend on the defendant's level of care—liability attaches regardless of how carefully the activity was conducted.