CP Torts and Personal Injury 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What are the four elements required to prove negligence?
- Intent, action, harm, causation
- Duty, breach, causation, and damages (Correct answer)
- Negligence, recklessness, intent, strict liability
- Plaintiff, defendant, witness, evidence
Correct answer: Duty, breach, causation, and damages
The plaintiff must prove duty of care, breach of that duty, causation, and actual damages.
The elements are: (1) Duty (reasonable person standard or special relationship); (2) Breach (failure to meet standard of care); (3) Causation (both cause-in-fact and proximate cause); (4) Damages (actual compensable harm). Failure to establish any element defeats the claim.
Question 2: What is the difference between comparative negligence and contributory negligence?
- They are identical
- Comparative reduces damages proportionally while contributory completely bars recovery if the plaintiff was at all negligent (Correct answer)
- Comparative for property, contributory for personal injury
- Comparative is federal, contributory is state
Correct answer: Comparative reduces damages proportionally while contributory completely bars recovery if the plaintiff was at all negligent
Comparative negligence reduces recovery proportionally; contributory negligence completely bars recovery for any plaintiff negligence.
Contributory negligence (only AL, MD, NC, VA, DC) completely bars recovery for any plaintiff negligence. Comparative negligence has two forms: pure (plaintiff recovers regardless of fault percentage) and modified (barred if 50% or 51% at fault depending on state).
Question 3: What is strict liability in tort law?
- Liability requiring proof of intent
- Liability imposed without fault for abnormally dangerous activities or defective products (Correct answer)
- Liability only for professional malpractice
- Liability stricter for repeat offenders
Correct answer: Liability imposed without fault for abnormally dangerous activities or defective products
Strict liability holds defendants liable regardless of fault, applied to ultrahazardous activities, defective products, and wild animals.
Applies to: abnormally dangerous activities (Restatement 520), product liability (manufacturing defects, design defects, failure to warn), and keeping wild animals. The rationale is that those benefiting from dangerous activities should bear injury costs.
Question 4: What is the statute of limitations in a personal injury case?
- A limit on damage amounts
- A deadline by which a plaintiff must file their lawsuit or lose the right to sue (Correct answer)
- A limit on witness numbers
- A restriction on evidence types
Correct answer: A deadline by which a plaintiff must file their lawsuit or lose the right to sue
The statute of limitations is a time limit within which a plaintiff must file, typically 2-3 years from injury.
The period varies by state (typically 2-3 years). Important considerations include the discovery rule (period begins when injury was or should have been discovered), tolling (paused for minors, incapacity, or defendant absence), and different periods for different claim types. Tracking limitations is critical to avoid malpractice.
Question 5: What is vicarious liability in tort law?
- Liability for one's own negligence
- Responsibility imposed on one party for another's wrongful acts, such as employer for employee negligence (Correct answer)
- Liability shared equally among defendants
- Liability only for government entities
Correct answer: Responsibility imposed on one party for another's wrongful acts, such as employer for employee negligence
Vicarious liability holds one party responsible for another's torts based on their relationship, commonly under respondeat superior.
Respondeat superior holds employers liable for employee torts committed within the scope of employment. The tortfeasor must be an employee (not independent contractor generally), the tort must be within scope (related to duties, during work), and intentional torts are generally excluded unless force is part of the job.
Question 6: What types of damages are available in personal injury cases?
- Only medical expenses
- Compensatory damages (economic and non-economic) and sometimes punitive damages (Correct answer)
- Only insurance policy amounts
- Only physical injury damages
Correct answer: Compensatory damages (economic and non-economic) and sometimes punitive damages
Plaintiffs may recover compensatory damages (medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering) and sometimes punitive damages for egregious conduct.
Economic (special) damages include medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, and rehabilitation. Non-economic (general) damages include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment, and disfigurement. Punitive damages punish egregious conduct. Some states impose caps on non-economic and punitive damages.
CP Torts and Personal Injury 2
What are the four elements required to prove negligence?