Torts Flashcards

Pennsylvania's survival action statute (42 Pa. C.S. § 8302) allows recovery for:

Answer: Claims that survive to benefit the decedent's estate, including the decedent's pain and suffering before death

Under § 8302, a survival action allows the decedent's estate to recover for the decedent's own losses — including pain and suffering experienced before death — as if the decedent had survived.

Under Pennsylvania law, punitive damages may be awarded in a tort case only when the defendant's conduct is:

Answer: Outrageous, with a bad motive or reckless indifference to the rights of others

Pennsylvania allows punitive damages only when the defendant's conduct is outrageous — either with evil motive or reckless indifference to the interests of others — not for ordinary negligence.

Pennsylvania's Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) creates a tort-like cause of action for discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Employees must file a complaint with the PHRC within how many days of the discriminatory act?

Answer: 300 days

A complainant must file a charge of discrimination with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission within 300 days of the alleged discriminatory act for employment claims.

Under Pennsylvania law, the tort of false imprisonment requires that the plaintiff was:

Answer: Confined within fixed boundaries by an act or omission that was intentional and that the plaintiff was aware of or harmed by

Pennsylvania's false imprisonment requires intentional confinement within fixed boundaries of which the plaintiff was aware or by which the plaintiff was actually harmed, even if the confinement was brief.

Pennsylvania recognizes the 'fireman's rule,' which generally bars which class of plaintiff from suing a landowner for negligence in creating the hazard that required their response?

Answer: Professional rescuers such as firefighters and police officers

Pennsylvania's fireman's rule provides that professional rescuers — including police and firefighters — generally cannot sue a negligent landowner for injuries caused by the very risk that required their professional response.

Under Pennsylvania law, which doctrine imposes vicarious liability on an employer for torts committed by an employee acting within the scope of employment?

Answer: Respondeat superior

Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, a Pennsylvania employer is vicariously liable for the tortious acts of an employee committed within the scope of their employment, without requiring the employer's own fault.