Hypersensitive Plaintiffs and Superseding Causes - Feb. 8 Flashcards
What happens in a hypersensitivity plaintiff case? (Feldman)
The hypersensitive victim case is one where there has been a breach of duty toward
this plaintiff, but the plaintiff is hypersensitive and their damages are therefore more
extensive than those that a typical victim would suffer. So the harm is more than the
torfeasor would expect.
What is the hypersensitive plaintiff rule of torts? (Feldman)
The rule is that “tortfeasors take their victims as they find them”—that the injurer is
liable for all of the harm that they have inflicted.
What is an intervening cause? (Feldman)
An intervening cause is an event that occurs after a tortfeasor’s initial act of
negligence and causes injury/harm to a victim. It is both a cause in fact and a
proximate cause of the harm.
What is a superseding cause? (Feldman)
A superseding cause is an intervening cause that breaks the chain of causation and
absolves the tortfeasor of liability for the victim’s injury. The problem of
superseding cause is figuring out when an intervening cause is a superseding cause.
What is the rule “danger invites rescue”?
The action of a rescuer is not
necessarily a superseding cause: ”Whether Herbert Wagner’s fall was due to the
defendant’s negligence and whether plaintiff in going to the rescue, as he did, was foolhardy or reasonable in light of the emergency confronting him, were questions
for the jury.” (642)
During the “danger invites rescue rule” what rule of reasonableness applies? (Feldman)
A relaxed rule of reasonableness applies: “Errors of judgment would not count
against [the plaintiff] if they resulted from the excitement and confusion of the
moment.”
What considerations play into the “danger invites rescue” rule?
Considerations of foreseeability, directness, and relative moral culpability play a role in justifying this rule.`
What is subsequent negligence? (Feldman)
If the fireman “had actual knowledge of need for further insulation,” his negligence in passing on the blocks without warning the nurse was “so gross as to supersede the negligence of [MSA] and insulate it from liability.”
Is gross negligence considered a superseding cause? (Feldman)
Yes.
Is ordinary negligence from a healthcare provider considered a superseding cause? (Feldman)
No. ordinary negligence of a healthcare provider is within the scope of the risk created by a negligent tortfeasor – it is both direct and foreseeable – whereas gross negligence is not.
