Torts Flashcards
How are people liable for negligence?
People are liable for negligence if they owed a duty to another, breached that duty, and factually and proximately caused the harm as a result.
When do you owe a duty to another? And when is the duty breached?
A person owes all forseeable plaintiffs a duty to act with reasonable care.
Plaintiffs are foreseeable when they encounter a risk of harm created by the actor’s conduct.
A person breaches a duty by failing to act with reasonable care.
What is factual cause?
An act factually causes harm if its a substantial factor contributing to the harm.
When does an act proximately cause a harm?
An act proximately causes harm if the harm is a forseeable result of the act.
What if there are multiple negligent acts?
If multiple negligent acts occur, each of which is a substantial factor in causing the harm, the negligent actors each have the burden of proving that their negligence did not cause the harm.
Res Ipsa Loquitur
If an injury-causing incident is the kind that would not typically occur unless someone is negligence, the law can infer that the person having exclusive control over the injury-causing instrument acted negligently and caused the resulting harm.
Does an intervening cause of harm cut off liability?
An intervening cause of harm does not cut off liability for an earlier negligent act if the intervening cause is foreseeable by the negligent actor.
Are medical doctors liable for negligently harming patients?
Medical doctors are liable for negligently harming patients if they do not meet the standard of care of their specialty and therefore cause the patient harm.
What if a person sells a defective product?
A person who sells a defective product is liable for the harm the defective product causes.
When does a food product have a manufacturing defect?
A food product has a manufacturing defect if it contains a harmful ingredient that a reasonable consumer would not expect it in the item.
When can a jury find multiple tortfeasors liable?
A jury may find multiple tortfeasors liable for harm if all acted negligently, and any one of the actor’s negligence could have caused the harm.
When can a jury attribute one tortfeasor’s conduct to other defendants?
A jury may attribute one tortfeasor’s conduct to other defendants if all are engaged in a common project and have explicitly or impliedly agreed to engage ion the tortious conduct.
