Chapter 8. Negligence and Strict Liability
1. A blind person will be held to the standard of care of a reasonable blind person rather than that of the reasonable
sighted person for purposes of determining negligence.
a. True
b. False
2. In applying the reasonable person standard, the court takes into account a person’s physical, but not mental,
handicaps.
a. True
b. False
3. The standard of conduct to which a child must conform to avoid being negligent is that of a reasonably careful
person of the same age, intelligence, and experience under the circumstances..
a. True
b. False
4. A person who falls asleep while driving would not be liable for any resulting injury since it would be an unavoidable
accident.
a. True
b. False
5. In the majority of states, in a case of negligence per se the plaintiff would only have to prove violation of a statute in
order to show negligent conduct.
a. True
b. False
6. Parents are not liable to a storekeeper for the destruction caused by their children if they permit the children to run
wild through the store.
a. True
b. False
7. A reasonable person, as used in the law of torts, is a fictitious individual who is always careful, prudent, and never
negligent.
a. True
b. False
8. Compliance with a legislative enactment or administrative regulation does not prevent a finding of negligence if a
reasonable person would have taken additional precautions to avoid harm.
a. True
b. False
9. In all states, a sixteen-year-old who drives a car will not be held to the same standard of care as an adult for
purposes of determining negligence.
a. True
b. False
10. Where two factors, each of which is sufficient to bring about the harm in question, together cause a harm, the “but
for” rule of causation is not useful.
a. True
b. False
11. A defendant will be liable for all harm that can be traced back to the defendant’s negligence.
a. True
b. False
12. All intervening events that occur subsequent to the defendant’s negligent conduct will relieve the defendant of
liability.
a. True
b. False
13. If negligence of the plaintiff and negligence of the defendant proximately caused the injury and damage sustained by
the plaintiff, the plaintiff can recover some damages in those states where contributory negligence is still recognized.
a. True
b. False
14. Comparative negligence by a plaintiff results in the plaintiff’s being completely unable to recover.
a. True
b. False
15. The owner of a dog will always be strictly liable if the dog bites someone.
a. True
b. False
16. In some instances, people may be held liable for injuries they have caused even though they have not acted
intentionally or negligently.
a. True
b. False
17. Tom’s dog has bitten three mailmen, but Tom can‘t bear to chain him up. When the dog bites the newspaper delivery
person, Tom will be strictly liable.
a. True
b. False
18. If a raccoon gets loose from a cage and harms someone, the owner can escape liability by showing that he took
great care to keep the animal confined.
a. True
b. False
19. The lawful possessor of land is liable to adult trespassers for failure to maintain the land in a reasonably safe
condition.
a. True
b. False
20. In determining whether a defendant’s conduct is reasonable in an emergency not created by the defendant, the
standard is that of a reasonable person under the circumstances.
a. True
b. False
21. Special relations between the parties, such as babysitter and child, may impose a duty of reasonable care to aid or
protect the child in situations where the duty would not otherwise exist.
a. True
b. False
22. A widely applied test for causation in fact is the “but-for” test.
a. True
b. False
23. The Third Restatement of Torts limits the defense of assumption of risk to express assumption of the risk.
a. True
b. False
24. A tiger gets loose from the tent of a circus and mauls a passerby. The circus claims it has always treated the animal
well and that it was not at all negligent in its handling of the animal. The circus has no liability for the injury caused
by the animal.
a. True
b. False
25. A possessor of land is under a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect invitees against dangerous conditions they
are unlikely to discover.
a. True
b. False
26. If a person’s 150-pound sheep dog has a tendency to jump enthusiastically on visitors, the animal’s keeper would not
be liable for any damages done by the dog’s playfulness.
a. True
b. False
27. The Third Restatement of Torts has abandoned the doctrine of implied voluntary assumption of risk in tort actions.
a. True
b. False
28. Ted is informed that his eight-year–old child is shooting in the street with a .22 rifle. Ted fails to take the gun away
from the child. The child unintentionally shoots Bill, a pedestrian. Ted is liable to Bill.
a. True
b. False
29. A licensee for purposes of tort law is a person invited upon land as a member of the public or for a business purpose.
a. True
b. False
30. A social guest is a public invitee.
a. True
b. False
31. The general rule in negligence is that a person is under a duty to all others at all times to exercise reasonable care for
the safety of others.
a. True
b. False
32. In determining a defendant‘s liability for negligence, his or her superior skill or knowledge will be attributed in
applying the reasonable person standard, thus increasing the chance that the defendant may be held liable.
a. True
b. False
33. If a defendant acts under emergency conditions, these conditions will be taken into account in applying the
reasonable person standard.
a. True
b. False
34. Negligence per se is a defense in a negligence case.
a. True
b. False
35. There is an established rule in the law of torts that even one who has not created a peril has a duty to take
affirmative action to assist an imperiled person, no matter what the relationship with that person, when the imperiled
person can be saved from harm at little or no personal risk to the rescuer.
a. True
b. False
36. A number of states have included social guests in the invitee category, although they have traditionally been labeled
as licensees.
a. True
b. False
37. Res ipsa loquitur makes it easier for the defendant to prevail in a negligence action.
a. True
b. False
38. Even though contributory negligence is proven by a defendant in a state in which it acts as a complete bar to
recovery, the plaintiff may still recover if the defendant had the last clear chance to avoid the injury but did not avail
himself of the chance.
a. True
b. False
39. Because of the harshness of the all-or-nothing contributory negligence rule, nearly all states have now substituted the
last clear chance doctrine for contributory negligence.
a. True
b. False
40. Comparative negligence has replaced the contributory negligence doctrine in most states.
a. True
b. False
41. Some states have today merged the implied assumption of risk doctrine into their comparative negligence systems.
a. True
b. False
42. Workers’ compensation is a form of strict liability.
a. True
b. False
43. While comparative negligence is generally not a defense in a strict liability case, contributory negligence generally is
a successful defense.
a. True
b. False
44. In an action for negligence, five elements must be proved: a duty of care, breach of that duty, factual cause, harm,
and proximate cause.
a. True
b. False
45. Two of the factors that are taken into consideration in determining the scope of liability for negligent conduct are
foreseeability and superseding cause.
a. True
b. False
46. Mark is out sailing in his boat one evening when he hears a young girl crying for help in the lake. Which of the
following is true?
a. Mark MUST help the girl or he will be liable for negligence.
b. Mark must help the girl ONLY if he knows her.
c. Mark MUST help the girl if he is the girl’s uncle.
d. Mark MUST help the girl if he begins to rescue her and moves her to a position farther from the shore.
47. By law, all apartment buildings in Mary’s state must have smoke alarms in the ceilings. If Mary suffers smoke
inhalation because the smoke alarm in her apartment building was not yet installed and Mary sues the owner for
negligence, Mary would have to prove:
a. a duty existed toward her.
b. a breach of that duty.
c. injury and causation.
d. All of these.
48. Which of the following is correct with respect to the reasonable person standard?
a. It makes considers whether the person has specialized skill or training.
b. It makes allowance for physical disability.
c. It applies an individualized test to children that takes into consideration the child‘s age, background, and
experience.
d. All of these.
49. Rick‘s driveway has potholes. He has been thrown from his bike several times because of them. If Rick invites his
biking friends for a barbecue, what must he do to escape liability for any harm to them?
a. Repair the potholes.
b. Post signs saying “slow to 15 mph.”
c. Telephone his friends to warn them about the potholes.
d. None of these.
50. The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur would permit the court to infer negligence in which of the following situations?
a. A can of peas fell off the shelf onto your foot.
b. A sign over a storefront fell on your head.
c. Neither of these situations.
d. Both of these situations.
51. Chris was driving a car with defective brakes very slowly down Fifth Avenue looking for a parking place. Mindy
jumped out into the street five feet in front of his car. Chris could not avoid hitting her. What is Chris‘s best defense
to the charge of negligence?
a. Mindy had a mental deficiency.
b. Chris was not negligent since he did not have a statutory duty to keep his brakes in top condition.
c. Mindy illegally crossed in the middle of the street, which was a superseding cause of the accident.
d. Chris was lawfully seeking a parking place and did not see her jump out.
52. Henry was burning leaves in his backyard. One of the burning leaves was lifted by the wind into Emilio’s yard next
door. It landed on the lawn mower which exploded, setting fire to the wooden lawn furniture. Henry’s best argument
against liability would be:
a. that the leaf was not a substantial factor in causing the damage.
b. res ipsa loquitur.
c. that it was not foreseeable that the lawn mower would explode.
d. that the damage was not caused by the leaf but by the gasoline.