Quiz: Chapter 3 Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is the “servant’s tort” theory of vicarious liability?
The notion that employers should be held responsible for the acts of people acting as their employees.
Health insurance is a form of:
First-party insurance
Can an employer be liable for the tort of an independent contractor?
Not vicariously, but direct liability may sometimes apply.
If an employer fails to discover evidence about a prospective employee that would have caused the employer not to employ the person in question, and that employee subsequently commits a tort in the course of his or her employment, what is the employer’s position?
The employer is vicariously liable for the employee’s tort, because vicarious liability is strict.
What is the objective of vicarious liability?
To enable the victim to be more easily compensated without imposing undue burdens on anyone else.
What is joint and several liability?
A doctrine that considers every liable defendant to be responsible for 100% of the plaintiff’s compensatory damages.
What determines whether someone is an employee or independent contractor?
The court must weigh a number of different considerations.
How does the law determine whether an employee was on a frolic of his or her own when s/he committed a tort?
Whether s/he was engaged in an activity characteristic of that employment.
If an employer is found vicariously liable for the tort of an employee, what is the status of the employee?
The employer and employee are jointly and severally liable.
What is strict liability?
Liability without proof of fault by the defendant.
The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is a form of:
Strict liability.
What is the consequence for the law of torts if the IRS determines that someone was an employee and not an independent contractor?
The court must balance that determination with a number of other factors
What is the “master’s tort” theory of vicarious liability?
The notion that the acts of an employee are really the acts of the employer.
Victor was injured when he stepped into the road without looking. Davina had been driving her truck down the same road and was unwrapping a chocolate bar as she approached the spot where Victor was crossing. Consequently, she did not see Victor until it was too late. Swerving, she almost managed to avoid Victor, but caught him a glancing blow before careening off into a paint factory owned by Sally. Davina’s truck was full of chemicals which, when mixed with the paint, caused an explosion that damaged the factory and its contents extensively. Davina was an employee of George. Is George vicariously liable for Davina’s negligence?
Yes, because Davina was acting in the course of her employment.
What is a Latinism?
Something written in made-up Latin, typically coined in the seventeenth or eighteenth century.
A nightclub bouncer beat up someone with whom he had a disagreement while the latter was attempting to enter the nightclub. What is the nightclub’s legal position?
The nightclub would be vicariously liable for the attack because it is reasonably foreseeable that a bouncer might act like this.
Workers’ compensation is a form of:
Strict liability.
What is the “servant’s tort” theory of vicarious liability?
The notion that employers should be held responsible for the acts of people acting as their employees.
If an employer hires someone as an employee without checking her references, and that employee then causes harm to another person while acting in the course of her employment, what is the legal position?
The employer can be both vicariously liable for the employee’s conduct and for his or her own negligence in hiring the employee.
What is vicarious liability?
A doctrine whereby one person may be held liable for a tort committed by someone else.
What is first party insurance
Insurance that compensates the policy-holder on the occurrence of a specific event.
