Negligence: Proximate Cause
D’s liability will not be reduced just because P is more susceptible to injuries
What is an Eggshell Plaintiff?
Under this doctrine, if the plaintiff is even 1% negligent, they are completely barred from recovery.
What is contributory negligence?
P is injured during routine shoulder surgery when a surgical clamp is discovered inside her body. No one can identify who dropped it.
What is res ipsa loquitur (instrumentality under D’s exclusive control)?
The plaintiff still must prove these three core elements
What are cause-in-fact, proximate cause, and damages?
In strict products liability, liability can extend beyond users and purchasers to this additional group, under many state variations.
Who are bystanders?
A proximate cause issue typically arises when this kind of fact pattern appears in the case.
What is something weird or unusual?
This defense applies only after the plaintiff has been injured and alleges that the plaintiff failed to lessen the harm.
What is avoidable consequences?
P develops cancer from a fungible pesticide produced identically by ten companies, and cannot prove which one she used.
What is market share liability?
D is strictly liable when his tiger mauls P, but not when P merely trips over the sleeping tiger.
What is harm within the nature of the animal’s dangerous propensities?
When the entire line is designed in a way that makes it unsafe, this type of defect is alleged.
What is a design defect?
To determine whether an intervening actor is superseding, courts often look to these factors.
What are time, distance, and culpability?
P signs a waiver for a risky yoga class. D negligently injures her, but the waiver is poorly worded and ambiguous.
What is invalid express assumption of the risk (unclear language)?
P is undergoing a dental procedure when D negligently leaves the drill motor running near her face. She sees the drill spiral toward her and screams but is not physically touched. She later develops PTSD.
What is direct NIED based on pre-existing duty of care?
When the plaintiff knows of the danger posed by the activity or product, understands it, and voluntarily encounters it anyway.
What is assumption of the risk?
A bakery sells bread containing a almond shard in a pastry. P sues under strict liability.
What is no strict liability under the “natural” substance exception?
A defendant may argue that an intervening event broke the chain of causation by being this.
What is a superseding cause?
P works backstage at a theatre. The director orders her to stand close to a trap door she fears is unsafe. She is injured when it collapses. D claims she assumed the risk.
What is whether the voluntariness element of implied assumption of the risk is satisfied (jury question)?
D, a supervisor, repeatedly targets P with ethnic slurs knowing P’s history of trauma. P develops severe anxiety.
What is extreme and outrageous conduct supporting IIED?
D operates a large-scale helium balloon release business. The activity is unusual, but the only risk is environmental harm, not personal injury. A balloon tangles with power lines, causing a blackout and injuring P in a hospital.
What is no abnormally dangerous activity strict liability because harm must be of the kind that makes the activity abnormally dangerous (here, not inherently a risk of personal injury)?
A new home robot vacuum, sold by Retailer R and manufactured by M, has a hidden wiring defect. During a storm, the robot short-circuits and sparks. Homeowner D placed the robot next to canisters of homemade fireworks for an upcoming celebration. The fireworks ignite and cause an explosion that triggers a larger explosion from a nearby quarry during dynamite testing. Flying rocks injure both P (a neighbor) and B (a firefighter responding to the explosion).
What is strict product liability for manufacturing defect, negligence by D in storage (possibly comparative fault), strict liability for abnormally dangerous activity blasting by quarry, firefighter rule barring B’s recovery, and proximate cause analysis of chain reactions?
D’s store is in a high-crime area. D negligently fails to fix the broken lights in the parking lot. P is robbed and stabbed while walking to her car.
What is D invited foreseeable criminal conduct, making the criminal act not superseding?
P slips in D’s store but wasn’t paying attention because she wore sunglasses indoors. Jury finds P 40% at fault and D 60%. Her damages are $50,000.
What is pure comparative fault (P recovers 60%)?
During a heated argument, D swings a bat at X intending to scare him (not hit him). X ducks, and the bat hits P standing behind him, knocking her down. P had agreed earlier to “be part of whatever happens” as a joke but did not know about the bat.
What is battery through transferred intent + assault on X + invalid consent due to lack of scope?
D owns a herd of cattle near a national park. Cattle repeatedly escape through an old fence D has not repaired. One night, the cattle enter P’s campsite. P tries to scare them away by lighting a large campfire. The fire spreads when one cow knocks over a flaming log, burning P and damaging the forest. Government sues D for the wildfire damage; P sues D for her burns.
What is strict liability for trespassing livestock + evaluating P’s comparative fault in escalating the danger + foreseeable vs superseding nature of the wildfire spread?
A trampoline is designed with no net. P is injured when he bounces off the edge. Manufacturer argues the very purpose of a trampoline involves risks of bouncing and falling.
What is distinguishing inherent product dangers from unreasonable design risks under risk–utility/consumer expectations?