Deck 12: Negligence: Element II: Breach of Duty

Question 1

A defendant is never expected to do more than what is considered to be custom and usage in the industry.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The statute of limitations designates the time period a party must wait before bringing a cause of action.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Under the English rule, the losing party pays the attorney fees of both sides.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Reasonableness is determined primarily by an objective standard.

Question 5

When doctors wish to stop providing medical services, they must first give their patients reasonable notice of withdrawal.

Question 6

If the defendants in a joint enterprise are jointly and severally liable, the plaintiff can collect the entire judgment from any individual defendant.

Question 7

Doctors are strictly liable for the harm they wrongfully cause.

Question 8

The defendant is expected to know that matches can cause dangerous fires even if the defendant's mental illness prevents him or her from knowing this.

Question 9

If the violation of a statute is negligence per se, the jury will be allowed to find that the defendant acted reasonably only if the presumption of unreasonableness is overcome.

Question 10

Unless a statute provides otherwise, parents are not vicariously liable for the torts committed by their children.

Question 11

An employer is vicariously liable for the torts of an employee if committed within the scope of employment.

Question 12

Physically, a reasonable person has the same strengths and weaknesses as the defendant.

Question 13

Under a reasonable patient standard, expert witnesses would be needed to help determine how much information should be disclosed to a patient.

Question 14

Establishing a res ipsa loquitur case means that the plaintiff has proven breach of duty.

Question 15

Res ipsa loquitur can be used only when there is direct or specific evidence of negligence (unreasonableness).

Question 16

To avoid an accident that might injure another, a reasonable person would undergo any inconvenience or burden.

Question 17

By definition, a reasonable person does not cause accidents.

Question 18

Legislative intent may help you determine whether a statute was violated.

Question 19

In most negligence cases, the standard of care is reasonableness.

Question 20

Attorney mistakes in the practice of law always lead to negligence liability.

Question 22

In negligence a breach of duty is

A) reasonableness as determined by an ordinarily prudent person
B) compliance with a statute that imposes a safety measure
C) unreasonable conduct endangering someone to whom you owe a duty of care
D) unreasonable conduct whether or not a duty of reasonable care is owed

Question 23

An attorney loses a client's case because of a failure to file the complaint before the running of the statute of limitations.

A) The client can win a legal malpractice action against the attorney if the client was not contributorily negligent.
B) The client can win a legal malpractice action against the attorney if the client can establish that the case would have been won if the complaint had been filed on time.
C) The client can win a legal malpractice action against the attorney regardless of the merits of the underlying case that was lost due to the statute of limitations.

Question 24

Lena is water skiing. When the boat is about to pull her out of the water, the propeller of the boat injures her. She sues the boat owner for negligence.

A) The reason res ipsa loquitur does not apply is that the injury was caused by an unavoidable accident.
B) The reason res ipsa loquitur does not apply is that the propeller was in the exclusive control of the boat.
C) The reason res ipsa loquitur applies is that an accident of this kind was more likely than not due to someone's carelessness.
D) The reason res ipsa loquitur does not apply is that it is as likely that Lena was careless as it is that the boat was careless.

Question 25

Someone who has assets with which to pay a judgment is said to have ________.

Question 26

A presumption

A) always removes the case from the jury
B) is an inference or assumption of fact that can be drawn when another fact or set of facts is established
C) must be accepted by the fact finder
D) by definition cannot be overcome

Question 27

Bill is forty years old, but has a mental disability that prevents him from understanding the danger in sharp objects. He plays with such objects as a five-year-old would play with, such as a beach ball. One day he sees his friend Kevin coming down the street. Bill is holding a knife that he took from his brother. When Kevin approaches, Bill throws the knife at Kevin and shouts "Catch." Bill is surprised and confused when he finds out that the knife seriously wounds Kevin. Kevin sues Bill for negligence.

A) Bill will be held to the standard of a reasonable person with the mental disability that Bill has.
B) Bill will be held to the standard of a reasonable person who has the basic knowledge and intelligence needed in everyday life, even though Bill lacks both.
C) Bill will be held to the standard of a reasonable five-year-old person.
D) Bill will be strictly liable for engaging in an inherently dangerous activity.

Question 28

Under the ________ rule, the amount of damages caused by the tortfeasor shall not be reduced by any injury-related funds received by the plaintiff from sources independent of the tortfeasor.

Question 29

A/an ________ is a promise by a physician to achieve a particular cure or other result.

Question 30

Medical malpractice

A) is the failure of a doctor to exercise the skills commonly applied by doctors in any field
B) is the failure of a doctor to exercise the skills commonly applied by doctors in the same field under the same circumstances
C) is the failure of a doctor to exercise the highest skills applied by doctors in the same field under the same circumstances
D) is the failure of a doctor to exercise the skills always applied by doctors in the same field under the same circumstances

Question 31

With liability insurance

A) The insurer agrees to cover damages unless comparative negligence bars recovery.
B) The insurer agrees to pay, on behalf of the insured, damages the latter is obligated to pay to a third party because of his or her legal liability to the third person for committing a tort or other wrong.
C) The insurer can refuse to pay damages incurred by the insured if the latter's negligence is determined to be gross.

Question 36

Dave operates a small guitar shop where he makes and sells guitars. One day he carelessly leaves flammable glue next to a heater. The shop burns down. The neighboring shop owned by Jane also burns. Jane sues Dave for negligence.

A) Dave was obligated to take all steps needed to prevent the fire.
B) Dave was obligated to take all reasonable steps needed to prevent the fire.
C) Dave's obligation was limited to taking all steps customarily taken by small guitar shops to prevent such fires.
D) Res ipsa loquitur applies.

Question 38

A risk-benefit analysis

A) requires a finding of breach of duty for substantial harm
B) cannot apply in a state that uses the Andrews test for duty
C) is also called proximate cause
D) determines whether the risks outweigh the benefits

Question 39

________ is the right to have another person pay you the full amount you were forced to pay.

Question 40

The failure of a doctor to provide informed consent on proposed treatment may lead to a/an ________ claim, although more often the claim is negligence.

Question 61

Define legal malpractice.

Question 62

Define reasonable person.

Question 63

Who is liable for paralegal negligence?

Question 64

Explain why we say that reasonableness is a comparative standard.

Question 65

What is meant by going bare?

Question 66

What is a conspiracy of silence in litigation?

Question 67

Distinguish between damage caps and fee caps.

Question 68

When is a defendant vicariously liable for the torts committed by an independent contractor that the defendant hires?

Question 71

What happens when a plaintiff establishes the elements of a res ipsa loquitur case?

Question 72

What is the function of a screening panel?

Question 73

Distinguish between a national standard and the same-or-similar-community standard in the standard of care required of doctors.

Question 74

What happens if the violation of a statute is excused?

Question 75

Distinguish between the reasonable patient standard and the reasonable doctor standard in determining whether a patient has provided informed consent.

Question 76

Distinguish between mediation and arbitration.

Question 77

What is the practice of defensive medicine?

Question 78

Explain how the breach-of-duty equation helps determine what a reasonable person would have done.

Question 79

When does a physician-patient relationship arise?