Question

Paul Pratfall was a young teacher who meant well, but could be easily led off task—especially, when it came to afternoon hall duty. When the school dismissal bell rang, Paul’s job was to make sure that the children walked safely and in a disciplined manner from the classrooms on his hall to the waiting school buses just beyond the front entrance. During Friday’s duty, one of Paul’s colleagues called out to him. “Hey, Paulie, come in here and check out the article in the paper about the big game tonight. You gotta see it!” At first, Paul hesitated, since he was on duty. Then, he went into his friend’s classroom to read the article. After all, he figured that he would only be a minute or two. Paul had just begun to read the article when he heard a loud crash and an anguished cry. He and his colleague ran into the hall to find little Jeannie lying on the floor with her leg obviously broken. Based on this scenario, Paul would most likely be guilty of:

Answer 1

The correct answer is: negligence

Explanation: In analyzing a negligence claim, one must analyze whether Paul had a duty, whether the duty was breached, whether damages were caused by Paul's breach, and whether there were damages.

Based on the fact's presented, it would seem likely that a negligence claim would prevail.