NALA Torts & Personal Injury Law 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What are the four essential elements a plaintiff must prove to establish a negligence claim?
- Intent, causation, damages, and foreseeability
- Duty, breach, causation, and damages (Correct answer)
- Motive, opportunity, harm, and negligence
- Liability, injury, responsibility, and compensation
Correct answer: Duty, breach, causation, and damages
To prove negligence, a plaintiff must establish: (1) the defendant owed a duty of care, (2) the defendant breached that duty, (3) the breach caused the injury, and (4) the plaintiff suffered damages.
Question 2: Under the 'reasonable person' standard in tort law, conduct is measured against:
- The actual defendant's subjective beliefs and capabilities
- A professional expert in the relevant field
- An objective, ordinary person exercising ordinary care (Correct answer)
- The most cautious person in the community
Correct answer: An objective, ordinary person exercising ordinary care
The reasonable person standard is an objective test measuring conduct against a hypothetical ordinary person exercising ordinary prudence, not the subjective state of the actual defendant.
Question 3: Which doctrine holds that a tortfeasor takes the victim 'as they find them,' making the defendant liable for all consequences even if the victim had a pre-existing condition?
- Eggshell skull (thin skull) rule (Correct answer)
- Contributory negligence doctrine
- Assumption of risk doctrine
- Last clear chance doctrine
Correct answer: Eggshell skull (thin skull) rule
The eggshell skull rule makes a defendant liable for the full extent of a plaintiff's injuries even if those injuries are more severe due to a pre-existing vulnerability the defendant could not foresee.
Question 4: In tort law, which of the following best defines 'battery'?
- The threat of imminent harmful or offensive contact
- Intentional harmful or offensive contact with another person without consent (Correct answer)
- Negligent contact causing physical injury to another
- Unauthorized entry onto another person's property
Correct answer: Intentional harmful or offensive contact with another person without consent
Battery is the intentional, harmful, or offensive contact with another person without consent; it requires actual contact, unlike assault which requires only the apprehension of contact.
Question 5: Under pure comparative negligence, if a plaintiff is 30% at fault and total damages are $100,000, how much can the plaintiff recover?
- $0 — any fault by the plaintiff bars recovery
- $30,000 — only the amount equal to the plaintiff's fault percentage
- $70,000 — total damages reduced by the plaintiff's fault percentage (Correct answer)
- $100,000 — the plaintiff recovers full damages regardless of fault
Correct answer: $70,000 — total damages reduced by the plaintiff's fault percentage
Under pure comparative negligence, the plaintiff's recovery is reduced proportionally by their own fault; a 30%-at-fault plaintiff recovers 70% of $100,000, or $70,000.
Question 6: What is 'proximate cause' in the context of a negligence claim?
- The factual cause of an injury determined solely by the 'but-for' test
- The legally sufficient causal link between the defendant's conduct and the plaintiff's foreseeable injury (Correct answer)
- The most recent act immediately preceding the injury
- An intentional act that directly caused identifiable harm
Correct answer: The legally sufficient causal link between the defendant's conduct and the plaintiff's foreseeable injury
Proximate cause (legal cause) limits liability to foreseeable consequences of the defendant's negligent act; it is a policy-based concept beyond mere factual causation.
Question 7: Which of the following is the most complete defense to an intentional tort claim of assault?
- The plaintiff assumed the risk of being assaulted
- The defendant did not specifically intend to frighten the plaintiff
- Consent — the plaintiff voluntarily agreed to the conduct (Correct answer)
- Contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff
Correct answer: Consent — the plaintiff voluntarily agreed to the conduct
Consent is a complete defense to assault and battery; if the plaintiff agreed to the conduct, the defendant is not liable for the intentional tort.
NALA Torts & Personal Injury Law 1
What are the four essential elements a plaintiff must prove to establish a negligence claim?