Practice Set 5 Flashcards
What damages are not recoverable in personal injury actions?
Attorney’s fees
What dangers are manufacturers not obligated to warn users about?
A manufacturer has no obligation to warn against obvious danger
What is the single intent rule?
A defendant may be liable if it intends merely to bring about the contact and does not need the intent for the contact to be harmful and offensive
When is a potential rescuer not permitted to contact a victim even in an emergency situation?
If the victim is (1) competent and conscious and (2) refuses treatment - applies even if the victim is in real danger
What type of force can an owner use against a trespasser?
A land owner is privileged to use reasonable force to prevent or end a trespasser’s intrusion upon its land or to protect its property
What type of force is an owner forbidden to use against a trespasser?
A land owner cannot use force that threatens serious bodily injury or death unless it was itself in danger of serious bodily harm or death
When does an intervening act cut off a defendant’s liability?
When the intervening act is not foreseeable
What duty do physicians have in order to obtain informed consent?
They have a specific obligation to (1) explain the risks of a medical procedure to a patient (2) in advance of a patient’s decision to consent to treatment
What is the standard to determine whether the level of risks are adequately explained when physicians are looking to obtain adequate disclosure?
- Majority - required level of disclosure as customary among medical practitioners
- Minority - must disclose any material risk, ie: risk that might make a difference to a reasonable person in deciding whether to proceed with treatment.
When are doctors not obligated to disclose?
- The risk commonly known
- Patient is unconscious / can’t give consent
- Patient waives / refuses the information
- Patient is incompetent; OR
- Disclosure would be detrimental to the patient
When is a defendant’s breach proximate cause?
- Type of harm must be foreseeable, AND
2. Harms that result from the risks that made the defendant’s conduct tortious
When can an owner of a wild animal be strictly liable for a plaintiff’s injuries caused by a fearful reaction to the animal?
If there is an injury caused by (1) a plaintiff’s fearful reaction to the sight of an (2) unrestrained wild animal, (3) in addition to injuries caused directly by the wild animal.
