Tort law worksheet with answers

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

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

In a personal injury claim, "special damages" usually cover:

1. ASpecific financial losses up to trial, such as lost earnings and medical costs
2. BA nominal sum to mark that a right was infringed
3. CCompensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity up to the date of the trial
4. DExtra damages to punish the defendant

In English law, who can normally sue in private nuisance?

1. AA person with a right to the land affected, such as an owner or tenant
2. BOnly the local authority
3. CAnyone who lives at the property, including family members and lodgers
4. DAny visitor staying at the property

After a flood makes a factory floor slippery, the owner spreads sawdust but not everywhere, and a worker slips. Under Latimer v AEC, the owner was:

1. ANot negligent, because closing the factory would have been out of proportion
2. BNegligent, because any slip proves a breach
3. CStrictly liable for flood damage
4. DNegligent, because it should have closed the factory until the floor was dry

Police officers who helped at the Hillsborough disaster suffered psychiatric injury. In White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire, their claims:

1. ASucceeded, because rescuers are always treated as primary victims in English law
2. BSucceeded, because they were employees of the defendant
3. CFailed, because they were not in physical danger and were not primary victims
4. DFailed, because the police can never sue their employer

A firefighter is injured by a heavy jack in an unsuitable lorry rushed to rescue a woman trapped under a vehicle. Under Watt v Hertfordshire CC, the fire authority was:

1. ANegligent, because it used an unsuitable vehicle
2. BNegligent, because firefighters must never take risks
3. CStrictly liable for injuries to employees
4. DNot negligent, because saving life justified the risk

A petrol station kiosk attendant racially abuses a customer, follows him outside and assaults him. In Mohamud v WM Morrison Supermarkets, the employer was:

1. ANot liable, because the assault took place outside the kiosk and after the conversation ended
2. BLiable only if it had trained him poorly
3. CVicariously liable, as the assault was closely connected to his job of serving customers
4. DNot liable, because violence was not part of his job

A tall new building blocks television reception for many nearby homes. In Hunter v Canary Wharf, the House of Lords held:

1. AThere was a nuisance, and all residents, including family members and lodgers, could sue
2. BThere was a nuisance, but only the council could sue
3. CThere was no actionable nuisance, and only those with an interest in land could sue
4. DThere was no nuisance, as nuisance requires noise