WDW: Basic Tort Law

Choose ALL that apply.

Personal injury law has several goals, including:

• Imposing legal penalties on those who commit crimes

• Securing compensation to make claimants "financially whole" again

• Holding negligent parties financially accountable

• Keeping the streets safe from drunk drivers

Which one of these is NOT a personal injury case?

• Slips and falls

• Breach of contract

• Medical malpractice

• Nursing home abuse

Choose all that apply.

A personal injury claimant can recover these damages:

• Economic damages

• Pain and suffering damages

• Non-economic damages

• Punitive damages (in rare instances)

Answer explanation

The proper term for "pain and suffering damages" is non-economic damages.

A lawsuit's filing deadline is called ______.

In a modified comparative negligence state, you can generally pursue damages as long as:

• You weren't involved in a hit-and-run.

• Both parties have insurance.

• You didn't cause most of the accident.

• A personal injury lawyer takes your case.

Answer explanation

Fun fact: in a comparative negligence system, you can't recover damages even if you're 1 percent responsible for what happened.

Choose all that apply.

Which of the following is true about contingency-fee arrangements?

• A lawyer collects a flat fee regardless of whether they win the case.

• An attorney gets paid by the hour for their services.

• An injured person pays nothing until their case successfully resolves.

• A client must pay for their consultation if they don't hire the law firm.

Answer explanation

Contingency-fee-based arrangements are generally the standard in personal injury cases. They are NOT standard in criminal defense cases.

Most personal injury cases rest on the principle of ____, meaning that someone didn't uphold their duty of care.

What's wrong with this statement?

"In a no-fault state, fault doesn't matter. It does not affect liability or how much you can recover."

What's wrong with this statement?

If multiple parties caused your accident, we can demand punitive damages from each of them.

Explain what's wrong with this sentence.

"Product liability cases require you to prove negligence, meaning that a manufacturer breached its duty of care."