Proximate causation - Next Generation Bar Exam
- A defendant negligently leaves a loaded gun on a table, and a child picks it up and drops it on her foot, breaking a toe. What is the status of proximate cause?
- It is lacking, because the harm was not within the risk of a gunshot that made the conduct negligent. The injury resulted from the gun's weight, not the risk of discharge.
- What is the status of intentional criminal conduct by a third party as a superseding cause?
- It is superseding unless the defendant's negligence created or increased the risk of that conduct. If the crime was the very risk that made the conduct negligent, it does not cut off liability.
- After repeated break-ins, a landlord fails to fix a broken door lock, and an intruder assaults a tenant. What is the effect of the crime on the landlord's liability?
- It does not cut off liability, because the crime was the risk that made the failure negligent. A foreseeable criminal act is not a superseding cause.
- What is the status of subsequent medical malpractice in treating an injury caused by the defendant?
- It is a foreseeable intervening cause, so the original tortfeasor remains liable. The original tortfeasor is liable for the aggravation.
- What is a superseding cause?
- An unforeseeable intervening cause that relieves the defendant of liability. Extraordinary criminal acts and unforeseeable natural events may be superseding.
- What is the status of a rescuer's injury in proximate causation?
- It is foreseeable, so the negligent defendant is liable to the rescuer. The rescue doctrine treats rescue as a normal response to danger.
- What is the effect of a foreseeable type of harm occurring in an unforeseeable manner?
- Proximate cause is still satisfied. The precise manner of harm need not be foreseeable.
- A negligent driver injures a pedestrian, whose injury is aggravated by a doctor's negligent treatment. For what is the driver liable?
- The original injury and the aggravation. Medical negligence is a foreseeable intervening cause.
- What is an intervening cause?
- A force that comes into play after the defendant's conduct and contributes to the harm. Foreseeable intervening causes do not cut off liability.
- What is the general test for proximate causation?
- Whether the harm was a foreseeable result of the risks that made the defendant's conduct negligent. This is often called the risk rule or scope-of-the-risk test.