SQE Tort Law 2

Question 1

Which test does an English court apply to determine whether a defendant's breach of duty in negligence has caused psychiatric injury to a 'secondary victim'?

Accepted Answer

The claimant must satisfy the Alcock control mechanisms: proximity in time/space, perception through unaided senses, and close tie of love and affection

Answer

The claimant must show they were within the zone of physical danger created by the defendant

Answer

The claimant need only establish that psychiatric injury was a foreseeable consequence of the defendant's act

Answer

The claimant must demonstrate they witnessed the event on live broadcast television

Question 2

Under the rule in Donoghue v Stevenson [1932], what principle was established by the House of Lords?

Accepted Answer

A manufacturer owes a duty of care to the ultimate consumer where the product reaches them without a reasonable possibility of intermediate examination

Answer

Manufacturers are strictly liable to all persons injured by defective products regardless of fault

Answer

A duty of care is owed by all persons to all others who may foreseeably be affected by their acts

Answer

Negligence requires proof of an intentional disregard for the claimant's safety

Question 3

A claimant partially contributed to their own injury. Under the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945, what is the effect on the claimant's damages?

Accepted Answer

Damages are reduced by the proportion the claimant's fault contributed to the damage

Answer

The claimant's claim is completely extinguished if they were at all at fault

Answer

The defendant escapes all liability if the claimant was more than 50% responsible

Answer

Damages are split equally between the parties regardless of respective degrees of fault

Question 4

In defamation law, which of the following is a defence of 'truth' (formerly justification) under the Defamation Act 2013?

Accepted Answer

The defendant must prove on the balance of probabilities that the imputation conveyed by the statement is substantially true

Answer

The defendant must prove that the statement was published without any malicious intent

Answer

The defendant must show the statement was a fair comment on a matter of public interest

Answer

The defendant must establish that the claimant suffered no actual financial loss

Question 5

In the tort of trespass to the person, which case confirmed that battery requires a direct and intentional act, not necessarily hostility?

Accepted Answer

Wilson v Pringle [1987], though subsequently the requirement for hostility was doubted in Re F (Mental Patient: Sterilisation) [1990]

Answer

Wilkinson v Downton [1897], which imposed liability for indirect intentional acts causing psychiatric harm

Answer

Letang v Cooper [1965], which restricted trespass to intentional acts only

Answer

Collins v Wilcock [1984], which confirmed that any physical contact is actionable battery

Question 6

The 'eggshell skull' rule in tort law provides that:

Accepted Answer

A defendant must take their victim as they find them and is liable for the full extent of the claimant's injury, even if unforeseeable due to a pre-existing condition

Answer

A defendant is only liable for the foreseeable extent of the claimant's injuries regardless of any pre-existing vulnerabilities

Answer

Liability is shared between the defendant and the claimant where the claimant had a pre-existing condition

Answer

Damages are capped at what would have been suffered by an ordinary person without any vulnerability

Question 7

Which of the following correctly states when the limitation period for a personal injury claim in negligence generally begins under the Limitation Act 1980?

Accepted Answer

Three years from the date of accrual of the cause of action or the date of the claimant's knowledge, whichever is the later

Answer

Six years from the date the damage occurred regardless of the claimant's knowledge

Answer

One year from the date the claimant first instructed a solicitor

Answer

Three years from the date of the defendant's negligent act, with no extension for latent damage