Tort law worksheet with answers

In England and Wales, a negligence claim for personal injury must usually be started within:

1. AOne year of the injury
2. BTwelve years of the injury
3. CSix years of the injury
4. DThree years of the injury or the date of knowledge

The phrase "res ipsa loquitur" in negligence means:

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

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

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

A solicitor negligently delays preparing a new will, and the client dies before signing. The intended beneficiaries lose their gifts. In White v Jones, the solicitor:

1. AWas not liable, because the will was never signed
2. BWas liable to the disappointed beneficiaries
3. CWas liable only to the client's estate
4. DWas not liable, because there was no contract with them

A council leaves an abandoned boat on its land. Two boys jack it up to repair it, and it falls and injures one. In Jolley v Sutton LBC, the council was:

1. ANot liable, because the boys' exact actions were unforeseeable
2. BLiable, because the broad type of accident was foreseeable
3. CNot liable, because repairs are not play
4. DLiable only to the boy who used the jack

Auditors negligently certify a company's accounts. An investor relies on them to buy more shares and suffers loss. In Caparo v Dickman, the auditors:

1. AOwed a duty because the investor was a shareholder
2. BOwed a duty to anyone relying on the accounts
3. CWere strictly liable for errors in the accounts
4. DOwed no duty to the investor for this purpose

A tannery spills small amounts of solvent over many years. It seeps underground and contaminates a water company's borehole, which nobody could have foreseen. In Cambridge Water v Eastern Counties Leather:

1. AThe tannery was liable in negligence instead
2. BThe water company was barred by contributory negligence
3. CThe tannery was not liable, because the type of damage was not foreseeable
4. DThe tannery was liable, because Rylands liability is strict and needs no foreseeability

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

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