So anyway, I started blasting
This type of liability deals with harms and activities that are too dangerous and too hard to regulate with negligence.
What is strict liability?
An employer is generally not vicariously liable for the torts of a worker in this category—unless the work is inherently dangerous or the employer was negligent in hiring or supervising.
What is an independent contractor?
This is the general term for the legal obligations a land possessor owes to people who enter their property.
What are landowner duties?
A defendant is strictly liable only if (3 elements)
What is: (1) they engaged in an abnormally dangerous activity; (2) the plaintiff suffered harm, AND (3) the harm was "proximately caused" by the defendant's activity.
Under the scope-of-employment test, employers are typically liable for torts committed during tasks the employee is hired to perform, but not for detours so substantial that the employee’s conduct becomes this.
What is a frolic?
Under traditional common law, this category of entrant—someone invited onto the property for the owner’s economic benefit—is owed the highest duty of care.
Who is an invitee?
Domestic animals such as dogs or horses only trigger liability when the owner knows or has reason to know of this dangerous tendency.
What is the animal’s vicious propensity?
This exception allows vicarious liability for an independent contractor when the work involves a risk that cannot be eliminated by reasonable care—such as blasting, crop dusting, or high-voltage electrical work.
What is the inherently dangerous activity exception?
This category of entrant is owed only a duty to refrain from willful, wanton, reckless, or intentional misconduct.
Who is an undiscovered or flagrant trespasser?
Owners of these kinds of animals are liable for harm they cause simply by virtue of keeping them.
What are wild animals?
If an employee causes an accident while running a small, work-related errand—like stopping to mail a package for the office—this minor deviation is still considered within the scope of employment under respondeat superior and it's known as...?
What is a detour?
A discovered or anticipated trespasser is owed this this duty. (you must fully articulate all of the duties)
What is the duty to warn or protect them from concealed, dangerous, artificial conditions and must exercise reasonable care in activities on the land.
In most jurisdictions, this type of common activity typically enjoyed in the summer months is interestingly not considered "ultrahazardous"
What are fireworks?
During his delivery route, a courier stops briefly at a coffee shop drive-thru—a minor detour. While pulling out, he negligently hits a pedestrian. Later that afternoon, the courier hires an independent mechanic to adjust his brakes, and the mechanic’s negligent repair causes a second accident. Under vicarious liability principles, the employer is liable for only one of these incidents. Which one, and why?
What is the first accident, because it occured within the scope of employment (a detour, not a frolic), whereas independent contractor negligence is generally not imputed to the employer?
Jordan stops by her neighbor’s house unannounced to return a borrowed book. While walking through the dimly lit garage, she steps onto a loose, rotting wooden board that the homeowner knows about but hasn’t fixed. The board snaps, and she falls, breaking her ankle. The homeowner had no reason to expect anyone else to be in the garage. Under traditional premises-liability rules, this entrant status—owed a duty to be warned of known, concealed dangers but no duty of inspection—applies here.
Who is a licensee?