CAIA Liability and Negligence Principles 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which type of damages compensates a plaintiff for pain, suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life resulting from an auto accident?
- Special (economic) damages
- Punitive damages
- General (non-economic) damages (Correct answer)
- Nominal damages
Correct answer: General (non-economic) damages
General damages, also called non-economic damages, compensate for intangible losses such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of life enjoyment.
Question 2: When adjusting a liability claim, the adjuster discovers the claimant failed to seek medical treatment for two weeks after the accident. How does this affect the claim evaluation?
- It automatically defeats the claim
- It may be used to argue the claimant failed to mitigate damages, potentially reducing the award (Correct answer)
- It confirms liability on the insured's part
- It has no relevance to the liability investigation
Correct answer: It may be used to argue the claimant failed to mitigate damages, potentially reducing the award
Plaintiffs have a duty to mitigate their damages; delayed medical treatment can be argued to have worsened injuries unnecessarily, reducing the defendant's liability for those aggravated damages.
Question 3: An adult passenger knowingly rides in a vehicle operated by a driver who is visibly drunk. They are injured in an accident. In a comparative negligence state, how might this affect their recovery?
- Their recovery is unaffected because they were a passenger
- Their recovery may be reduced proportionally based on their own contributory fault (Correct answer)
- They automatically recover full damages because they were not driving
- The driver's insurer must pay full damages to all passengers
Correct answer: Their recovery may be reduced proportionally based on their own contributory fault
In comparative negligence states, a passenger who knowingly accepted a ride from a drunk driver may have their recovery reduced to reflect their own contributory negligence or assumption of risk.
Question 4: A driver runs a stop sign (a statutory violation) and causes an accident. The concept of 'negligence per se' means:
- The driver is automatically criminally liable
- Violation of the traffic statute establishes negligence without requiring proof of unreasonable conduct (Correct answer)
- The plaintiff is barred from recovering because they were also violating traffic law
- Proof of damages is no longer required
Correct answer: Violation of the traffic statute establishes negligence without requiring proof of unreasonable conduct
Negligence per se means that violating a statute designed to protect the public (like a traffic law) constitutes negligence as a matter of law, removing the need to separately prove the breach element.
Question 5: Two drivers simultaneously enter an intersection from different directions and collide. Neither had a right-of-way advantage. How are liability and damages most likely allocated under comparative fault?
- The driver who entered the intersection first is 100% liable
- Liability is split equally 50/50 automatically by law
- Each driver's percentage of fault is determined by the facts, and damages are allocated accordingly (Correct answer)
- Neither driver can recover because both were negligent
Correct answer: Each driver's percentage of fault is determined by the facts, and damages are allocated accordingly
Under comparative fault, the jury or adjuster assigns each driver a percentage of fault based on the specific facts, and damages are distributed accordingly.
Question 6: What is the significance of an independent medical examination (IME) in a disputed auto liability claim?
- It determines fault for the accident
- It provides the insurer with an objective medical opinion on the nature and extent of the claimant's injuries (Correct answer)
- It replaces the claimant's own treating physician's records
- It is required before any liability can be admitted
Correct answer: It provides the insurer with an objective medical opinion on the nature and extent of the claimant's injuries
An IME gives the insurer an independent physician's evaluation of the claimant's injuries, which can help assess the legitimacy and extent of medical claims in a liability dispute.
Question 7: A teenage driver borrowed a parent's vehicle without permission and caused an accident. Under which doctrine might the parent still be held liable in some jurisdictions?
- Family purpose doctrine (Correct answer)
- Respondeat superior
- Strict products liability
- Dram shop liability
Correct answer: Family purpose doctrine
The family purpose doctrine holds a vehicle owner liable when a family member uses the vehicle for a family purpose, even without explicit permission in some jurisdictions.
CAIA Liability and Negligence Principles 5
Which type of damages compensates a plaintiff for pain, suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life resulting from an auto accident?