True/False
Indicate whether the
statement is true or false.
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1.
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At common law, contributory negligence absolutely
bars the plaintiff’s negligence claim.
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2.
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Last clear chance is a response to assumption of
risk.
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3.
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Comparative negligence apportions liability between
the plaintiff and the defendant and
adjusts the plaintiff’s recovery
accordingly.
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4.
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Statutes of limitations are irrelevant to
negligence defenses.
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5.
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The plaintiff and the defendant decide how to
apportion comparative negligence in a
lawsuit.
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6.
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In effect, contributory negligence is a way of
describing a plaintiff’s negligence toward
himself or herself.
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7.
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Some legal scholars believe that comparative
negligence produces fairer results than
contributory negligence.
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8.
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Some legal scholars criticize comparative
negligence for its arbitrary and capricious
approach to assigning liability
percentages.
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9.
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The assumption of risk defense applies even if the
plaintiff was unaware of the dangers
involved.
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10.
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Under assumption of risk, the plaintiff’s
claim is barred even if he or she involuntarily
engaged in dangerous activities.
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Multiple Choice
Identify the
choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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11.
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When a plaintiff violates his or her duty of
reasonable care to himself or herself, and this
proximately causes the plaintiff’s injury,
this is called
a. | assumption of risk. | b. | contributory negligence. | c. | last clear
chance. | d. | consent. | e. | none of the above. |
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12.
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Last clear chance can best be defined
as
a. | consent. | b. | a response to a contributory negligence defense. | c. | comparative negligence. | d. | intent. | e. | none of the
above. |
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13.
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Which of the following is the best example of
contributory negligence?
a. | Charles is driving a car on Main Street. Robert is
driving a car on State Street. At the Main/State intersection, which is a four-way stop, both cars
run stop signs and collide. | b. | Adam and Janet
accidentally sever a buried gas pipe while digging in their backyard.
This causes an explosion
that damages their house. | c. | Alfred and Cherrie
own sheep, which escape their enclosure. The sheep stray onto a
neighbor’s property, eating
the neighbor’s corn and bean crops. The neighbor’s land was not
fenced. | d. | Daniel and Samantha operate a neighborhood grocery.
Rebekah, one of their customers, slips and falls on a slick spot. Rebekah was wearing sunglasses
inside the store. | e. | None of the above
is an example of contributory negligence. |
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14.
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Which of the following is the best illustration of
assumption of risk?
a. | Tanya drives a cement mixer. Dobie is a construction
worker. While unloading cement from the truck, Tanya noticed that Dobie was standing near a large
hole behind him. She said nothing, and, as Dobie stepped back to avoid the flowing cement, he fell
into the hole. | b. | Colleen is a
litigation paralegal. She drafts a will for a client to be reviewed by her
supervising attorney,
Amy. Amy fails to do this. The will was written improperly, and
the client sues for legal
malpractice. | c. | Angela works in a
pastry shop. She notices that there is an electrical short in one of the machines she is using.
Rather than shutting the machine off, she continues to use it and is
electrocuted. | d. | Janet is a
reference librarian. As she was researching a patron’s question, a bookshelf fell on her and
injured her. | e. | None of the above
illustrates assumption of risk. |
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15.
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Which of the following is the best example of
comparative negligence?
a. | Bill is driving and fails to stop for a stop sign.
Margaret is listening to music and fails to pay attention to the road and oncoming cars. Both
vehicles collide. | b. | Anna and Wesley
are tag-team wrestlers. During one wrestling match, Anna put a headlock hold on Wesley, severely
injuring his neck and shoulders. | c. | Steve is a hunter.
While searching for elk, Steve sees a brown shape moving through the trees. Although the figure is
clearly walking upright on two legs, Steve shoots,
wounding Vikki, a game
warden. | d. | Kathleen is a cutter at a wholesale meat-packing
company. She always used safety
glasses while cutting. One day, the metal saw blade broke, sending
metal slivers flying. One sliver penetrated the glasses and struck Kathleen in the left
eye. | e. | None of the above is an example of comparative
negligence. |
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16.
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Which of the following is the best illustration of
last clear chance?
a. | Deborah runs a drill press. She wore long sleeves and
got one sleeve caught on the drill bit. As a result, her arm was badly
lacerated. | b. | Terressa is a bank
employee responsible for verifying check signatures against signature cards. She failed to verify the
signature on one of Brian’s checks, which had been stolen and bore his forged signature. The
bank cashed the check and charged Brian account. | c. | Jason is a chemist. While mixing chemicals, he combined a rare potassium
isotope with water, causing an explosion that destroyed the laboratory. | d. | Ronald is a door-to-door salesperson. He approached Lyndon’s house,
which had a
defective porch roof. Lyndon was aware of this danger. Ronald saw the roof sagging but
continued onto the porch. The roof collapsed, injuring Ronald. |
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17.
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In which of the following does the trier-of-fact
apportion liability between negligent parties
to adjust the recovery?
a. | Contributory negligence | b. | Comparative negligence | c. | Assumption of
risk | d. | Both A and B | e. | Both B and C |
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18.
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Which of the following is not an aspect of
the assumption of risk?
a. | The plaintiff’s voluntary
assumption | b. | Known
risk | c. | Full appreciation of the dangers
involved | d. | Breach of duty | e. | All of the above are elements of assumption of
risk. |
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19.
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The time period within which one must file a
negligence lawsuit is commonly called
a. | laches. | b. | joinder. | c. | a statute of
limitations. | d. | a statute of
frauds. | e. | none of the
above. |
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20.
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Which of the following includes proximate
cause?
a. | Assumption of risk | b. | Contributory negligence | c. | Comparative
negligence | d. | Both A and
B | e. | Both B and C |
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