Torts, Negligence, and Professional Liability
Negligence Elements
A candidate must apply duty, breach, causation (actual and proximate), and damages. Understand the reasonable person standard, the role of custom and statutes (negligence per se where the statute sets a standard and the plaintiff is in the class protected), and the professional standard of care. Know res ipsa loquitur and when it applies.
Defenses and Special Doctrines
Study comparative and contributory negligence, assumption of risk, and the effect of joint and several liability. Understand intentional torts (battery, assault, false imprisonment, trespass, conversion) and the doctrine of respondeat superior. Know strict liability categories: abnormally dangerous activities and defective products, with the elements of a products claim.
Professional Liability
For professional malpractice, understand that the standard is the ordinary skill of similar practitioners, that expert testimony is usually required, and that duties run to clients and sometimes to intended beneficiaries. Know the difference between negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, and the effect of engagement letters and disclaimers.
Traps and Rule of Thumb
Traps: treating proximate cause as mere foreseeability of any harm; assuming a professional guarantees results; forgetting that comparative negligence reduces rather than bars recovery in most jurisdictions. Rule of thumb: ask whether the harm was within the risk that made the conduct careless. If yes, proximate cause likely holds.