Negligence

Question 1

Negligence elements

Answer 1

Duty, Breach, Causation (actual cause and legal cause), Damages

Question 2

Duty - standard rule

Answer 2

legal duty to act as a reasonably prudent person taking precaution against unreasonable risk of injury

Question 3

Duty owed to who

Answer 3

Only have a duty to foreseeable plaintiff - within the zone of danger at time of negligence

Question 4

Negligent infliction of emotional distress

Answer 4

Negligent conduct + emotional distress + physical manifestation

Question 5

Duties of land owner

Answer 5

Invitees = reasonable care to prevent injuries; Licensees = warn of known dangers; Trespassers = avoid infliction of willful harm

Question 6

Duties to child trespassers

Answer 6

If too young to know danger + D had reason to know of presence and the dangerous artificial condition = duty to prevent injury

Question 7

Medical malpractice standards

Answer 7

Physician must possess/use knowledge, skill, and training of physicians in good standing in geographic community. GPs = locality; Specialists = national

Question 8

Res ipsa loquitur

Answer 8

Infer D’s breach b/c: type of harm doesn’t occur without negligence + D had control over instrumentality of harm

Question 9

Ways to determine cause in fact (actual cause)

Answer 9

But-for test (standard); Loss of chance, Substantial Factor, Alternative liability theory, Market Share liability –> all multiple Ds must be negligent in some way

Question 10

Proximate Cause (legal cause)

Answer 10

As long as type of harm is foreseeable, D responsible for extent of harm.

Question 11

Superseding cause

Answer 11

Unforeseeable, intervening cause that breaks chain of causation

Question 12

Defenses to negligence

Answer 12

Contributory/comparative negligence + Assumption of Risk

Question 13

Assumption of risk

Answer 13

Express or implied (Knew of nature of risk, appreciated the specific danger, voluntarily chose to subject himself to danger)