Tort law worksheet with answers

The phrase "res ipsa loquitur" in negligence means:

1. AThe claimant has voluntarily accepted the risk
2. BThe defendant is strictly liable for any harm
3. CThe case cannot be decided without expert evidence on the standard of care
4. DThe facts suggest negligence unless the defendant gives an explanation

In general, a person who hires an independent contractor is:

1. ALiable for all torts committed in the same year
2. BLiable only if the contractor has no insurance
3. CNot vicariously liable for the contractor's torts
4. DAlways vicariously liable for the contractor's torts

A civil claim for breach of statutory duty succeeds only if:

1. AThe claimant has no other possible claim
2. BThe statute creates any duty at all
3. CThe defendant has also been convicted of a criminal offence under the statute
4. DParliament intended the statute to give individuals a right to sue

A young man dives into a shallow lake in a public park despite warning signs and is paralysed. In Tomlinson v Congleton BC, the council was:

1. ALiable for half of the damage
2. BNot liable, because the risk was obvious and voluntarily taken
3. CLiable, because it did not destroy the beach
4. DLiable, because the signs were ignored by many

A boarding-house warden employed by a school abuses the boys in his care. In Lister v Hesley Hall, the employer was:

1. ALiable only for its own negligent hiring
2. BVicariously liable, because the abuse was closely connected with his duties
3. CNot liable, because the warden acted for himself
4. DNot liable, because abuse is never within the course of the warden's employment

A driver is in a minor collision, suffers no physical injury, but his chronic fatigue illness becomes permanent. In Page v Smith, he could recover because:

1. AThe defendant intended to injure him
2. BHe was a primary victim and personal injury of some kind was foreseeable
3. CHe had a close tie of love with the other driver
4. DPsychiatric injury is always recoverable after any road accident, however minor

After Barker v Corus held that liability under the Fairchild exception was proportionate to each defendant's share of the risk, Parliament responded for mesothelioma cases by:

1. ARequiring proof of "but for" causation in all cases
2. BAbolishing claims for asbestos disease
3. CMaking each responsible person liable for the whole damage, under the Compensation Act 2006
4. DCreating a state compensation fund to replace tort claims against employers and their insurers entirely

In Hedley Byrne v Heller, liability for negligent misstatement arose because:

1. AThere was a special relationship in which the claimant reasonably relied on advice given with skill
2. BThe statement caused physical injury
3. CThe defendant intended to deceive
4. DThere was a contract between the parties under which the bank was paid a fee for the reference it gave